<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Chasing The Moon (Your Soul) by Spade_Storm</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23130901">Chasing The Moon (Your Soul)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spade_Storm/pseuds/Spade_Storm'>Spade_Storm</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>A Song of Ice and Fire &amp; Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Dracula Untold (2014), Game of Thrones (TV), H2O: Just Add Water, Iron Man (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Werewolves Are Known, BAMF Tony Stark, Civil War Team Iron Man, Druids, F/M, Familiars, Magic, Mako Island, Multi, Protective Tony Stark, Vampires, Warlocks, Witches, Wolf Pack, do not copy to another site</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-20 05:07:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>30,350</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23130901</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spade_Storm/pseuds/Spade_Storm</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Rikki Chadwick lived a long life and died in her sleep. </p><p>She wakes up in the same bed she had as a teen. It's a new world with new rules and new dangers.</p><p>But Mako is in danger and this mermaid isn't afraid to use all of her magic to defend it. </p><p>Tony Stark is a Prince, a real live Prince. The great grandson of Vlad Tepes, King of Romania, and his dreams of his soulmate have turned dark. He needs to find her, to protect her. He needs to stop what's coming for her.</p><p>Can the Stark family catch up to Rikki? Or will they fall behind and watch her disappear?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Rikki Chadwick/Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>61</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>179</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. New Ground</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm SO sorry!</p><p>I did a thing.</p><p>I made another story. I couldn't help myself. (At this rate, It will take forever to update the others. 😭)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Being alive is weird. Good but <em> weird</em>.</p><p>Rikki Chadwick had retired. She’d been a mermaid since she was fifteen. Turned into one by the full moon on Mako island off the Gold Coast of Australia. There had been three of them and then four but of them all, she was the only one out of her friends to not give up her tail even when the eclipse passed it’s way over Mako again. She’d already had plans to have her body cremated and her wealth split.  Half would go to various charities and the marine park. The other would be split evenly between Bella’s and Cleo’s grandkids, even her houses. Emma’s will be fine without it since the other blonde already had a good size inheritance to give them.</p><p>But time moves forward and not even mermaids can change that.</p><p>One day, she just knew. An instinctive <em> knowing </em> deep within her bones that this was it. There was no fear. Why would she? Rikki has seen the world thrice over, swum its depths and recovered beautiful treasures. Even though she felt the usual loneliness creep in, like a painful vice, she kept going. She lived as free and fearless as she had always dreamed. As she promised herself and stuck close to. </p><p>But that day she enjoys the feel of the warm sun, soaks in the bath for a while longer, and savors every bite of her favorite cake. She spends the day being lazy, and when the last full moon she’ll ever see rises across the sky, she lays back in her lounge chair. Rikki closes her eyes with a smile on her face and the moon high above.</p><p>Only to wake up in her bed, the same bed she had when she was teenager and living with her dad.</p><p>She thought it was a dream.</p><p>But. No. It wasn’t. It only took one shower to learn that lesson very quickly. She had fallen to the floor hard enough to be more than convincing. She was just glad her father wasn’t around to run in on her.</p><p>It took her <em> two weeks </em>to get a grip on everything. </p><p>Rikki was still a mermaid, still had her powers, lived with her dad and wasn’t talking to her mother. She still had her crystal necklace and she learned her age: seventeen. Fortunately it was summer break so Rikki didn’t have to worry about school but that won’t last for much longer. On the good side, she only had one more year before graduation and then she could be off.</p><p>A chance to do things again? Do things better? Why? Why was she here?</p><p>Rikki needed answers and there was only one place she knew to look.</p><p>Mako Island. </p><p>But the moon pool was empty and quiet. Tranquil. There were no answers, well, at least not yet. It wasn’t a full moon so she might have to wait for that. Until then, Rikki did more research than she would have liked as a teenager.</p><p>But the whole age and wisdom thing does have some truth to it. She researched locations and the history of locations before she went on dives. Mostly to check for mines or corporations who might have hidden cameras in the water but the practice stuck with her. That was when the biggest shock flipped her world inside out and upside down.</p><p>Rikki wasn’t in the past or some spelled dream. No. She was in a whole new world. She had to be. There was no other explanation.</p><p>She’d started with the laws, to see Mako’s status as a preservation and it spiraled from there. </p><p>Supernatural creatures were everywhere. </p><p>No. Not really. But the entire world knew about them. There was a news article about a coven of witches trying to lay claim to the island last year.  It was shot down by various preservation groups as an important breeding ground for sharks. They’d been given ‘territory’ further inland. But that was only one example. There were plenty of laws protecting supernatural creatures and their property. There were protocols and diplomacy and <em> decades </em> of history. </p><p>World War II. </p><p>That’s where it all happened. Where it all deviated from.</p><p>That is roughly the time that the magical world was exposed to the rest of the world. Leaders from various communities came together and joined the United Nations.  The effects are everywhere. Werewolves, Vampires, and witches. Good and bad. Laws on prosecuting illegal activities and courts specifically for the magicals.</p><p>There were also subclasses and ‘Families’ within the magical communities. It took her two days or so to really understand any of it. But there was the ‘Old Blood’, species from an original race like Vampires who were old <em> before </em> the invention of the rifle. There was the Stark Family that’s an example of that type. Apparently the ‘Head’ is considered the ‘First Vampire’, the King Vlad Dracula and the rest of his family are descendants of his human son, Ingeras. </p><p>There’s a ton of information on them but Rikki moves on. Doubtful she’ll come across any of them unless she leaves the country soon.</p><p>There was ‘New Blood’ which is a species that’s deviated from the Old, adapted to the changing world. The various werewolf packs are an example of this. There is a pack in the US that can shift into large horse sized wolves and others in parts of Russia and the UK that are a little bigger than regular wolves but still smaller. But all of them are descendants of the Old blood werewolf that’s now extinct.</p><p>Which leads to the next class, ‘Cursed’. This one Rikki found interesting. This one was specific to races who were maladapted. </p><p>A big example of this one was the ‘selkie’ or the ‘seal folk’. There must have been thousands of articles about how they weren’t mermaids because, and this was the kicker, ‘real mermaids are extinct’. The origin of the seal folk is about a whole host of slaves who escaped from a coven of witches and since the witches couldn’t get them back from the icy waters they swam into, cursed them into seal people.</p><p>Evidence supporting this also comes from accounts from several Old families’ personal accounts like journals. But there were also studies being done to try and free them from their Cursed status. It was slow going because researchers and sorcerers have to separate the Cursed from humans who simply suffer from skin disorders.</p><p>But that led her to reading about the ‘American Mermaids’ and the large INTERNATIONAL discussion about what their class is. Rikki only needed to see one video to know they were Cursed, too. There was another deep gut instinct that told her that was the answer. The truth of these ‘mermaids’ who aren’t really mermaids was as clear to her as a cloudless sky.</p><p>They were in a legal grey area right now. Since they didn’t have a classification beyond being ‘mythical’ there was very little protection for them. Even less in America. There were already rumors on the internet that a number of them were captured and experimented on by the US military. All of it brings back bad memories of that Denman woman and how she trapped Rikki and the girls in the moon pool. For science and glory and because she thought she had the authority, the right, to treat them like they were her own personal playthings.</p><p>In that regard, Rikki empathized with them. But on another, the idea of any of them coming here, coming to Mako, makes her want to call a storm. A real spin chilling one, too. One that’ll get the real fanatical talking about the apocalypse and all that.</p><p>Maybe it's something to do with them being Cursed? There was something about them, as Rikki watched the video of one of them, something that rubbed her the wrong way. It was wrong, whatever they are, they aren’t mermaids and they shouldn’t be calling themselves that.</p><p>To make matters worse, there were other groups supporting them. A subclass that was fighting to get them ‘Old Blood’ status as mermaids. Why that would matter to them she wasn’t sure. There was a lot of political talk that Rikki was still struggling to sort through. But these groups were part of the last class, Hybrids. A species that are the result of a magical and a human having children. Self-explanatory.</p><p>But she still has no idea why various hybrids want this specific group to have Old Blood status. Then again, there’s a lot that the internet does not say about these groups. What laws they follow among each other for example. Who has more political power and what have they done with it? Who has what kind of jurisdiction and how does that work with normal humans?</p><p>The only examples she’s found were with some of the ‘Royal’ families and from what she understands they have a little more influence than regular world leaders. Heck, in the case of Dracula, he <em> is </em> the leader of his country. His official title also isn't ‘Dracula’. It’s Vlad, King of Romania and he is officially the ruler of all supernatural citizens in the entire country. </p><p>He was also not endorsing those Cursed things as Old Blood.</p><p>Which gives him several points in Rikki’s book. His lack of endorsement seems to be holding everything up and that tells her a lot about the kind of weight the vampire carries. It says nothing about <em> why</em>, though, which is frustrating as hell. </p><p>Why does this King not endorse a magical species but a large number of hybrids do? Is it the location? Is there something else she’s missing and what could make him endorse them? Is it a favor or a contract of some kind? For everything that Rikki learned there were still blank spots. She just hoped they were spots that other people had as well because nothing is more suspicious than not knowing something that everyone else does. </p><p>All of this makes Rikki anxious and impatient for the full moon. It gave her and the girls warning about the comet all those years ago. It can do that again. Hopefully.</p><p>In the meantime, Rikki quits her research and goes diving. </p><p>There’s nothing around Mako she would ever dream of taking to an appraiser but there are a few out in open water. She spends a few days searching the ocean floor for fossils and dead seashells. The seashells might go for a few hundred, if she’s lucky but the fossils can go for up to a few thousand. </p><p>Her father had tried to hide it from her, again, but the bills needed to be paid. </p><p>She manages to get a location of a decent sized fossil and it looks like a squid which might get her a decent haul. But it’s too late in the day for her to bring it up and swims her way back home to her nice warm bed. </p><p>Tomorrow is the first day of Hell. </p><p>School.</p><hr/><p>The Stark Mansion in New York was damn near bursting. All of the Stark family is here and Tony loves having everyone here even if it means seeing his father, the grumpy asshole his mom still kind of loves.</p><p>Not Tony’s problem. </p><p>He’s seventeen, one sweet year away from freedom. His uncles would call him a drama queen but considering the circumstances they wouldn’t do anything else.  For all that Tony was one of his granddad’s favorites, all the kids call King Vlad granddad, he still felt like a black sheep. That’s another reason Tony gets on with his cousin Jon so well. Jon Targaryen is the son of Tony’s aunt <a href="https://images.ctfassets.net/g8qtv9gzg47d/image_post_60282/ffa94abf6bbcd09c3b6197c9efc4c107/Slider_1_-_Anna_Speckhart__Hot_Roller_Evangelist">Lyanna</a> and the current King of Valyria, <a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CuILY8aWAAQydCk.jpg:large">Rhaegar</a> Targaryen. </p><p>Tony likes Rhaegar for all that he has no idea what Tony talks about when it comes to technology, he’s quick to support the fact that it's something Tony <em> likes</em>. It makes it real easy to see why the man gets granddad Vlad’s approval. Of course that shines a spotlight on how much granddad <em> hates </em> Viserys, Rhaegar’s younger brother. The other fire starter has been trying to get granddad to agree to marry another Stark to him for years but that’s not going to happen after the disaster that granddad Rickard left. </p><p>No one before gramp Rickard has ever agreed to arranged marriages. He was the first and granddad Vlad made sure it was the last. Rickard had tried to get his oldest son <a href="https://www.oxygen.com/sites/oxygen/files/field_blog_image/2018/09/liev_schreiber-g.jpg">Brandon</a> married to Catelyn Tully, daughter of the Earl of Riverlands in Scotland but that failed when uncle Brandon married <a href="https://twinfinite.net/2017/05/6-actresses-who-should-totally-play-triss-merigold-in-the-witcher-netflix-series/3/">Triss</a> <a href="https://www4.pictures.gi.stylebistro.com/Gemma+Arterton+Updos+Messy+Updo+GTJuMazcbr_x.jpg">Merigold</a>, a sorceress. She’s also a <a href="https://i.pinimg.com/736x/a8/8f/36/a88f368df7d4fca086228ddf723d0b4b.jpg">redhead</a> but more fun than the Tully lady and Tony will wholeheartedly defend the fuck out of Triss because the Tully woman is a crazy fucking bitch.</p><p>He has no idea what the fuck gramps was thinking marrying that jealous shrew into the family. Actually, Tony has even tried to find out who the hell convinced him to do it in the first place but all he’s managed to get his hands on was that gramps hired a warlock for some reason and then granddad had nearly had him killed when the scandal broke.</p><p>Yeah, it was that bad. </p><p>There’s a reason vampires don’t accept arranged marriages. It wasn’t because we were arrogant or anything like that. (Although Tony’s meet plenty like that). It was because of one highly guarded secret.</p><p>Vampires have soulmates.</p><p>Yeah. <em> That</em>.</p><p>Those things die hard romantics write about and dream of. It's a secret vampires hoard viciously. There are plenty of reasons, of course, blackmail and kidnapping to name the most common. But the most important is envy. What would the other factions do if they learned that vampires, the most feared, most powerful, the literal top of the food chain predators, had souls? What would they do if they learned vampires could meet their literal soul match?  </p><p>Granddad wasn’t taking chances, placed an international muzzle on all vampires, even those who aren’t under his jurisdiction about the issue. It just became even more important since WWII with what happened to all those people in the camps. </p><p>But all that just makes what gramps did even more scandalous. </p><p>When Uncle Brandon got married, he’d already been mated to Triss for a year, so gramps had turned to Uncle <a href="http://www.ageofthering.com/atthemovies/cast/seanbean.jpg">Ned</a> and he’d signed the marriage contract not knowing it was a <em> magically binding </em>contract. Granddad had been furious and it took nearly the entire family to hold him back from killing gramps Rickard. </p><p>Uncle Ned had been devastated when he’d learned his own father had basically sold him off to a woman who wasn’t his soulmate. But that wasn’t the public story. Nope. As far as the public knows gramps had sold his son for a chance that his grandkids will have a rare ability. The warlock who’d made the contract disappeared (granddad probably trapped him in the dungeons in his old ass castle and tortured the hell out of him. Tony feels no sympathy for him), and gramps had been prohibited from leaving the Romanian capital where grandma <a href="https://www.marieclaire.com.au/media/48742/cate-blanchett.jpg">Lyarra</a> can keep an eye on him. </p><p>Tony got a bunch of cousins from them, Uncle Ned and his human wife. Robb, who was fun and had a serious hard on for racing, Sansa who was sweet but a vicious fashion deva, and Arya. She’s been part of the Winter guard for two years now and Tony thinks she’s a badass. After her was Bran, a bumbling little ball of sunshine and one hell of an artist. Tony helped him make his first game last year. Then there was the youngest, Rickon, whose the same age as Tony’s brother Peter and who looks like a spitting image of granddad’s only son eons ago. They’re another of granddad’s favorites. But that doesn’t change the fact that most of Uncle Ned’s kids were born because of that creepy little contract.</p><p>Just thinking about it makes Tony shiver and want to throw up his breakfast. The thing made his uncle suffer if he wasn’t near the fanatic and it gets worse if he doesn’t have sex with her after a certain amount of time. That’s not to say he regrets having kids, Uncle Ned freaking dots on them all and his nieces and nephews. Hell, there are days Tony wishes he was his dad. </p><p>Tony’s cousins feel the same and tend to gloat, the assholes. Jon and Tony let them, since their relationship with their mother is, uh, pretty much nonexistent. Yeah, granddad wasn’t going to let the crazy lady keep the kids. There was a court case and everything. She’d tried to claim rights as a Stark, but granddad shot that down by telling her and the court straight.</p><p><em> “Marriage to a Stark does not give her rights to the Stark name and family resources. Marriage isn’t valid unless she was bitten prior to the contract being signed.” King Vlad speaks to the judge refusing to acknowledge the other woman. “As such, she has no rights to any Stark children, especially those made using a </em> <em> cursed </em> <em> contract.” </em></p><p>That video is still Tony’s favorite to watch when he or any of his cousins have a bad day. It was a closed session but it still brought a lot of media attention. The only downside was that it showed just how much sway they had in international politics. It was one thing to read about it but it was entirely different to see it. That meant a lot of people throwing themselves at any Stark currently single. </p><p>Ugh. Leeches.</p><p>After that she tried to get visitation rights, since her blood did ‘awaken’ gifts in his cousins. Robb and his siblings could warg, seeing through the eyes of animals, and they could sense when someone with magic was nearby.  That sensory ability was pretty cool, Tony can admit, and while rare not exactly big on the power scale. Heck, being able to warg is a recessive Stark trait from some distant ancestor mating with a <a href="https://teenwolf.fandom.com/wiki/Druid">Druid</a>. Her lawyer hammered the hell out of that point. Even though she was completely human, her family can trace their lineage back to the Holy men and women of an Independent Scotland. Which means that her family were either witches, warlocks, or hunters that hunted them down. None of which the Tullys would verify in court, claiming them to be family secrets and protected by law. But even without that, Scotland has a history for slaughtering men and women who were “evil witches”, and claiming to have a direct connection to that kind of family is not seen as a positive thing in Romania. But her lawyer claimed the children showing previously unused abilities means her claims have some merit. Whatever records her family kept would be the best means for Robb and his siblings to understand and control their new abilities. </p><p>Granddad wasn’t having it. </p><p>He didn’t like the implication that as the oldest vampire on the planet, he didn’t know or have access to resources for any of his grandchildren, no matter their blood. That had been a dangerous time, too. Romania had been beyond pissed, some Scottish woman thought she was good enough for one of their Princes. There is a deep animosity for Scotland in the country and even some of the tourists who are native Scots have a real hate for the woman. (Although that might have been more due to her being a rich snob). Neither did the judge.</p><p>But she did win some very limited visitation. Heavily monitored too and from what Robb tells him, still too long. </p><p>If she were a little more down to earth it would be okay but from what he says, his mother was way too fanatical for his taste. For anyone’s taste. She constantly preached to Robb and his siblings about seeing the Light and praying for guidance. Tony trusts Robb’s opinion on that since he dated a catholic girl once. She was lovely, very nice and down to earth. It was a real shame when she didn’t turn out to be his soulmate but she met someone just as nice after their break up. (If Robb and Tony were the ones to set that up, well, no one else needs to know. She really was a sweet girl).  </p><p>But Crazy Cat couldn’t even tone it down. Which is just sad. </p><p>Thankfully, half way through the court case, Uncle Ned met his mate. <a href="https://i.pinimg.com/564x/2a/6d/04/2a6d04464e8e4e575b884e557d6f090e.jpg">Ashara</a> Dayne who is a lovely woman and a entrepreneur. They met when Uncle Ned had gone to get smashed at a bar and the rest is history. She’s great. She even gets Howard to agree with her when he is being really assholish. </p><p>Her family were also badass. They served as Royal Guards for Jon’s family and her brother was the reason Uncle Ray survived an ambush a couple months back. It was all over the news and had nearly sent granddad into a violent fit.  It took Aunt Lyanna nearly an hour to calm him down over the phone. It didn’t stop the family from flying out to Valyria and seeing them.</p><p>That was the first time Tony had met Jon’s older brother, Aegon, from Uncle Ray’s first marriage. He was pretty decent, stressed and nervous being second in line to a country but the man can <em> bake</em>. Seriously, he made these crumb cakes that would have put Tony in a coma and Jon, the ass, never mentioned this! Oh, he talks plenty about his older sister and how great of a Queen she’ll be. But said future queen can’t bake like her brother. Nope, not at all. Aegon gets all that talent from his mom.</p><p>Uncle Ray’s first wife was Elia Martell, from the Martell family of sand benders. She’d died in a car accident two years before he knew Tony’s aunt but rumors are it had been bad. Uncle Ray had been a mess. He wouldn’t let his daughter out of his sight and Aegon, the only one who paramedics were able to save from the wreck, was treated the same. No one was allowed to take them from him and no one was allowed to feed them but him. The man had started to lose weight and refused to sleep. It got so bad that Elia’s family had to march into the castle and knock some sense into him. They had to bully Uncle Ray into taking care of himself and let his kids be kids.</p><p>When Aunt Lyanna had married him, she’d been welcomed by pretty much the entire Valyrian country and loved even more when she had a positive change on their king. Tony’s seen videos and pictures of that time. When the ambush had happened, everyone had been scared Uncle Ray would regress and he had, partially. Rhaenys, Aegon, and Jon had been confined to the King’s Palace in the capital while Aunt Lyanna was quarantined at the airport, just before she was going to fly out to Romania. </p><p>The Martells were cool enough to keep granddad updated on everything while the Stark family descended on the country. They had earned a ton of brownie points during that time with the old vampire. </p><p>But none of the family had expected Uncle Ned’s mate to be someone from a family they already knew. Small world for you. It helped that Auntie Ash took the time to go to grandma Lyarra to help out once in a while. Not even Crazy Cat did that and it didn’t help her case. Every year the woman petitioned for more time with Tony’s cousins and every year she’s been denied. She just couldn’t take a hint.</p><p>On the other hand, the entire case brought a lot of attention to warlocks. They had to double down and work their ass off to fix their reputation after that. Hell, they offered granddad a life debt and all research the, uh, prisoner had stashed. It still wasn’t enough. Granddad has tried damn near everything. He even asked Uncle Ray, well King Rhaegar in public, to have a go at it and it didn’t matter how hot he made his fire, the thing didn’t show so much as a scratch. </p><p>That had been a dark week. Tony had been twelve and even he knew how much that seemed to crush Uncle Ned’s spirit. Years of research and testing seemed to be drying up.</p><p>Things have gotten somewhat better. Mating and marrying Ashara seemed to weaken the contract a little. It made it easier to be away from the redhead which is how his other kids, Erik, Daemon and Dyanna were born. Erik is the same age as Tony and Sansa, about two years younger than Robb. Then Daemon is a year and a half younger than them, about the same age as Arya. Which leaves Dyanna who was born around the same time as Rickon and Peter, being thirteen years old.</p><p>But no one can be sure that time was the answer or if the number of kids was it either. (Although Tony’s other uncles liked to joke that Uncle Ned was the real wolf stud of the family). But granddad refused to accept anyone who wasn’t vetted by Uncle Ray’s court or the Martell family to look over the contract or tamper with it. Heck, even Howard took a test run at it and grew obsessed when none of his work showed any results.</p><p>Tony’s pretty sure all that failure is what drove his dad to the brink of treason.</p><p>Which leads to Tony’s side of the family and <em> that </em> scandal. The only reason granddad didn’t throw Howard into prison is because his obsession is around freeing his brother, Ned. Granddad has a guard with Howard all the time now but he was also assigned a therapist. </p><p>Now digging into this story was a lot easier than Uncle Ned’s. It also took going back a few decades to before the Second World War. Old Nan, that’s gramps’ mom, had gramps Rickard and a daughter Jocelyn Stark. She wasn’t born with any of the vampire gene, though, and even though granddad had offered to turn her, she ran away. She actually managed to lose her security detail and disappear for a few years.</p><p>The next time they hear about her is in Germany, where a man claims his son Gregory, from Jocelyn Stark and the man is a descendent of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. Tony just started to learn German so he had a problem with pronunciation but from what he managed to understand the man was trying to apply for a dual royalty from Germany <em> and </em> Romania. German officials weren’t going to do anything unless granddad confirmed the man’s story. </p><p>But <em> that </em> part of the story was easily covered up.</p><p><a href="https://bookingagentinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Mark-Pellegrino-Contact-Information.jpg">Gregory</a> Stark, not so much. He was Howard’s older brother and Tony’s uncle but granddad took him away. Grandmama <a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/dracula/images/3/3e/Mina_Murray_Dracula_Untold.png/revision/latest?cb=20150121224059">Mina</a>, granddad’s mate, raised him while the family started searching for his mom but that search came to an end years later, when she sent a letter. She’d written to the family from her death bed, asking them to take care of her son, Howard Stark. </p><p>She died from the flu.</p><p>But the family kept its promise. They took a teen Howard in and welcomed him into the family. There was strain when Howard was introduced to Uncle Greg but Uncle Ned helped smooth things out. (It's one of the reasons Uncle Ned is the favorite). Then World World II breaks out and granddad has to mobilize the military to fight off an invasion. But Howard creates Stark Industries, creating weapons for America, to avoid being drafted and came into contact with a group called the SSR, the predecessor to SHIELD.  (Everyone in the Stark family hates SHIELD. They suck). But more importantly, Howard was part of a project to make the first werehybrid. They took some no name kid from Brooklyn and injected some serum made from werewolves and werejaguars into the guy. He survived and became Captain America. </p><p>To the rest of the supernatural community? He was an abomination. </p><p>Tony completely agreed. Part cat, part wolf, and part human, if that. It’s all sorts of wrong. Hell, zoos get a ton of shit for cross breeding captive animals but America makes a real monster and they hail the thing as some kind of messiah. If granddad hadn’t been so busy with the war he would have killed the thing when he had the chance. (Still might with all the ranting he does now that the guy was recovered from the Arctic alive). </p><p>Howard had barely escaped prison time and granddad was seriously considering revoking his status as a prince. </p><p>Then he goes babbling about all the things he learned and studied. Tony can still see the video in his head. Of a younger Howard surrounded by his brothers, his granddad and grandma, rambling about the future of the planet. Tony is a genius like his dad, like Howard, and he had a hard time following along with what he was saying. He was swaying back and forth even as he paced the room, his hair wild from running his hands through it, and his fangs were out.  A sign he hadn’t had a meal in days. </p><p>There are blood banks specifically for vampires, where synthetic blood is sold in various flavors and temperatures, <em> everywhere</em>. (It’s also why everyone wants to keep a good relationship with Valyria since the synthetic blood is their main export and no one wants a bunch of feral vampires among the general population). But Tony has never seen Howard like that in his lifetime and he’s glad the man is getting therapy. </p><p>But that didn't change the fact that Howard had done a lot of shit around this time while under this frame of mind. It’s no real secret that a vampire turning feral is dangerous. But it is also when they’re most obsessive, excessive energy burning through them, pushing them to do <em> something</em>. Once he’d been fed and forced to sleep, Howard couldn’t even recall what he’d been doing for the past four months. The only piece of evidence were a bunch of contracts to open a weapons division for SHIELD, funding and political support from Howard’s company.</p><p>That had sent Uncle Greg into a fit of his own.</p><p>It had led to a screaming match between the two brothers and Tony almost regretted digging for the truth. That was how bad the fighting had been. They were tearing into each other, verbally, bringing up hurts and weaknesses that made the screaming worse. It had taken the rest of the family pulling them apart to keep them from tearing into each other physically. </p><p>The documents weren’t signed so granddad ripped them up, ending the whole thing by reminding them that he made a vow not to lose anymore children to contracts made under false pretenses. </p><p>The fight left them at that pointed reminder and that was the first time Tony’s ever seen his own father cry. It was on video but still, he’s never seen Howard shed a tear.  He’d broken down and swore he could do it, he could break the contract, if only he had a little more time. He could do it. The artifacts were old, as old as the Great Pyramids he claimed and he could find the answers there. Howard looked decades older then, older than granddad who doesn’t look a day over <a href="https://i.pinimg.com/736x/9a/6a/25/9a6a25dbe37af77f314e7bdeaad55b87.jpg">forty</a>. </p><p>But to keep him calm, granddad agreed and made a formal appeal to the American government to see all artifacts possessed by the SSR and the American Military.</p><p>That’s when the scandal hit.</p><p>Because the American government swears they took nothing from the Nazis and they have no idea what King Vlad is talking about.  When granddad wondered if the Americans were calling a prince of his country a liar, they responded by showing photos of Howard drinking and womanizing like it was a presentation. It had pissed granddad off so bad. Not the drinking or the sex, he didnt care about that, but that they were clearly tearing down Howard’s reputation. </p><p>The media reels from that time are vicious. Even today, they can be nasty but right after the war? When Romania was asking for potentially world changing magical artifacts? Yeah, they weren’t giving them up without milking them for all they were worth. But they’d obviously shot themselves in the foot with that angle because the same guy they’d sang praises of for making weapons was not going to go back to that after having his reputation bashed to hell. (Granddad wasn’t going to let him anyway). The SSR had disappeared but in its place, SHIELD had been born and then it vanished. </p><p>When Howard had gone to get his things from the base, everything was gone, every artifact, every chair and table was gone. He’d built the computers so he was able to recover the research there and his physical research he’d taken with him but everything else was nonexistent. The irony came when Howard had shown proof that the American government had given him ownership of a particular artifact that was missing. </p><p>Essentially stealing from a Prince of Romania. </p><p>Yeah, granddad went there. But President Truman wouldn’t bend despite protest from the Secretary of State, who knew he and President Roosevelt had a decent relationship with the Romanian Royal family and the Romanian government. Although the man clearly had some regrets about that when the Big Four turned into the Big Five as Romania joined the United Nations.</p><p>To say relations are tense is an understatement. </p><p>Oh. But it got worse after that. Since granddad didn’t trust Americans with Howard’s safety or his well being, he had Tony’s dad put Greg in charge of the company. Which Tony knows was a major power move because Uncle Greg can be a nightmare of an asshole. He’s seen on more than one occasion his uncle completely rip into an American politician who got too uppity. He’d started his tenure as CEO by closing all weapons divisions for the American government and SHIELD. He did keep the defense contracts in place to keep the company from going under but that was it. Once Uncle Greg expanded those contracts to include the UN peacekeeping force, all bets were off. The American government had officially lost any advantage in terms of military power. </p><p>Granddad had Howard turn his focus to technology and communications. (There were enough Starks good at war, he didn't want to add another one to the mix, according to Uncle Greg). It did Tony’s dad some good until he had one of his fits and needed to take a break. Mom says its a result of the war and whatever artifacts he’s been studying together. Which after a shit ton of research, Tony’s willing to accept. Being too close to certain magical items can have really adverse effects on a person and that’s just on a regular human. The effects are probably compounded if Howard had really been studying more than one for a longer period of time with protection. Tony’s inclined to believe his mom, since she’s his dad’s mate and she knows him better than anyone else. That still didn’t make the way Howard treated him or his brother okay. Tony remembered taking the brunt of it because he did love his brother and Peter didn’t deserve anything bad happen to him. And yeah, he totally got that from his own therapist that granddad got him after Howard fed him nearly half a bottle of bourbon when he was fourteen. Mom had nearly ripped  Howard’s ear off when she walked in on them. Tony vaguely thinks she might have threatened to have her Oni cut off some of his fingers. (Having a lightning kitsune for a mom comes with a few perks). But he hasn’t seen his dad, hasn’t seen Howard, since. </p><p>Three years. </p><p>Wow. As if this reunion wasn’t already going to be a fucking shitshow.</p><p>Mom went to visit Howard in Romania while Tony stayed here with Uncle Greg and Peter, who is a big softie and who’s showed up to every science fair and award ceremony since Howard got shipped back. He records them, too, he knows so that the rest of the family can see. Tony knows Howard watches them and that he gushes about Tony taking college classes online so he isn’t completely bored with high school. (Yeah, grandma wasn’t having Tony skip on to college). But this will be the first time he’s seen his dad and he isn’t sure what to expect.</p><p>At least he won’t be alone in having a first today. </p><p>Pepper will be there, too. Well her name is Virginia but Tony calls her Pepper because he saw her pepper sprayed her supervisor before marching up to Uncle Greg about an accounting error. Even though Uncle Greg was a monster in corporate America and had built a reputation as a cold hearted son of a bitch, she walked right up to him without an ounce of fear. She is a badass and plenty of the other Starks will love her.</p><p>But thinking of her brings Tony to the real reason he’s nervous as fuck. </p><p>It’s the same reason he’s gone down the rabbit hole that is the Stark family history. He’s spent a stupidly long time in the Stark archives. Every Stark has a soulmate. Even Jon, who is half vampire and half fire starter, has a soulmate. Robb has a soulmate and the chances of the rest of his siblings having one because of their vampire genes is pretty high. </p><p>The problem is that he’s never heard of soulmate dreams like Tony’s had. </p><p>Robb says he dreamt of the forest of old Transylvania, of riding through the forest, chasing his mate on a grey mare. He ended up meeting her while out riding with Jon and their guards. She’s human but <a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/iron-throne-roleplay5113/images/a/a8/Ysilla.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20180407191342">Ysilla</a> Royce’s and her family have been lifelong supporters of the Stark family in war and in court. Now that she’s mated to Robb, she’ll share his life span. </p><p>Jon’s sire claims the fire in their blood came from an ancient dragon who’d taken a harem of humans as consorts. So when he said he’d been dreaming of chasing a fox among the stars as a dragon, there wasn’t much surprise.  Well, nothing beyond the confusing part about stars but when Jon said he started to dream about smelling roses and jasmine he had a lead. Where a year later, he ended up chasing that scent all over Paris and finding his mate at the Louvre Museum. Of course Uncle Ray thought it was romantic and Aunt Lyanna still teases him about it.</p><p>But if his cousin’s accounts are anything to go by, then those dreams are pretty normal. He’d started dreaming of her for a few months now. He dreamt of blonde hair and sand beneath his feet.  The sound of waves softly crashing onto shore and the full moon high above them, the only light in the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgkvwG971hw">sky</a>. It never failed to sooth him into a deeper sleep.</p><p>Until two weeks ago.</p><p>It had changed. His dreams had turned dark. Before he couldn’t see her clearly, now there was a growing distance, a chasm Tony couldn’t cross no matter how hard he ran to her. More and more he saw a man, face hidden by shadows, and the scent of rot followed him. The nightmares grew worse. He could hardly make out his own dreams and then it had gone horribly, horribly wrong and he woke up screaming. </p><p>If Uncle Greg and mom hadn’t stopped him, he’d have gone into a rampage. But when that feeling of <em> terror/rage/pain </em> had passed, Tony had broken down crying. He’d been too incoherent for his mom and uncle to make sense of at the time and then he’d fallen asleep.</p><p>Only to have the same dream again.</p><p>He woke up screaming, again.</p><p>Peter, he knows he’s scared his baby brother and that fucking burns. It eats at him. It's his job to protect him and here Tony is, failing at that. Mom had begged him to talk to her and fuck if that hadn’t hurt to see. His strong, proud mother begging him to talk to her about his nightmares. But he couldn’t. It was like his tongue turned to stone and a hand was around his throat, stealing his voice away. How could he describe it to her? How can he put into words the feeling of having his heart ripped from his chest and his soul condemned to a cold, lonely life? </p><p>Because he dreamed of her, of his mate, of her beneath moonlight and then, then, he’d been forced to watch her die. How does one put that into words? </p><p>But Uncle Greg seemed to understand. He was a genius, too, of course he got it. Tony managed to get the bare bones of his nightmare out before his uncle called granddad and from there it just steamrolled to everyone else. While they waited, Uncle Greg gave Tony something to sleep but not dream. He didn’t know how to feel about that. He could sleep but he didn’t dream of her, of blonde hair or sand. It hurt, either way it hurt.</p><p>They came like a wave, first Uncle Ned with his mate and all his kids, Uncle Brandon with his mate, Triss, and their son, Cregan the oldest of the kids at twenty four.  Robb came with Ysilla, Jon with his mate, another lightening kitsune like Tony’s mom, <a href="http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/38300000/Natalie-Dormer-for-SELF-Magazine-April-2015-natalie-dormer-38312728-393-500.png">Margaery</a> Tyrell and they really do look good <a href="https://i.pinimg.com/736x/04/79/27/0479274b07782a6aa342bf789dccae5b.jpg">together</a> like Uncle Ray claimed. There was granddad, King <a href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c5/72/34/c5723459ddb4a1faf73316a90a71263b.jpg">Vlad</a> because he’s definitely in King mode, with grandma Mina and his dad, Howard showing up with him. Uncle <a href="http://images6.fanpop.com/image/polls/1227000/1227276_1370430555565_full.jpg">Benjen</a> is the last to arrive with his mate, Princess <a href="http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/lucerne/images/9/9b/Dacey_Mormont_Cover_Amazing.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/400?cb=20140315020700">Dacey</a> Mormont, from one of the few remaining Amazon families in the world. They came with their kids, Torhen and Blake. Torhen is the same age as Jon and Blake is the same age as Tony but both are badass, too.</p><p>This was nothing until you added the amount of servants and security that invaded the mansion along with everyone. To the public, the gathering is to introduce the youngest of the family to everyone. This meant Peter, Tony’s younger brother and Rickon, Uncle Ned’s youngest, are meeting the entire family in person. </p><p>But it's really a cover for an emergency meeting with granddad, grandma, Tony’s parents and Uncles. Grandma Mina will be keeping everyone else preoccupied because the last thing the family needs is another crisis. But granddad will take point on...understanding what’s wrong with him.</p><p>Fun.</p><hr/><p>It’s good to have them here.  His cousins are all pretty good distractions form his own problems. Jon is showing off the desserts his brother made and Tony helps his brother steal a few. (Not really, it's hard to steal from a vampire but Jon’s a good sport like that). Margaery is chatting with Tony’s mom, Ashara, and Sansa. There’s giggling going on there and he’s blocking all of that out. He doesn’t want to know. Blake is in an arm wrestling contest with her brother, Robb, Cregan and Erik. It looks like she’s winning, too. Triss and Pepper looking like they’re hitting it up just fine with Greg hovering like an evil overlord.</p><p>There’s so much <em> noise</em>. Tony loves it. He can hear the heartbeats of his family, can feel the vibrations in the floor and the stairs. He can feel the life pumping through them, the slight zing as electrical currents surge through their bodies. It helps Tony forget the real reason they’re here.</p><p>Granddad puts his hand on his shoulder and Tony looks over at him. He looks so calm and it settles his nerves a little. If anyone will know, if anyone will have a solution, its granddad.  No matter the mess with Uncle Ned, grandad always had a plan of some kind. He follows him out of the room, waving at Jon as he goes, to show him everything’s fine but Tony doesn’t look back to see if he believes him.</p><p>They end up in his father’s, in Howard’s old study. It’s big enough for them and there are a few chairs added put around in a circle. Uncle Brandon, Ned, Benjen, Greg, and Howard were there. Mom isn’t which is a surprise, he was sure she would but Aunt Lyanna is. He didn’t even see her show up.</p><p>“Greg tells me you’ve had nightmares about your mate.” Trust granddad to get right to the point. </p><p>“Yeah.” Tony sits where the oldest vampire wants him, right in the middle of them. “It’s-they got worse. Before, they were so dark I could hardly make anything out and then, they just-“</p><p>Tony chokes. Again, like his voice is being strangled. There’s a hand on his heart, squeezing it, tighter and tighter. Then he feels granddad’s claws are in his shoulder. Not deep but painful. Painful enough he’s exhaling and taking a harsh breath that brings him back to the room.</p><p>“They feel real.” Granddad is right there, blocking his view of the rest of the room. </p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“I gave him the pills you told me to.” Uncle Greg’s voice comes from somewhere on his right. “He hasn’t had a dream in about a week.”</p><p>“There is a reason for that.” Granddad tells Tony as much as he tells the others in the room. “The lack of dreaming is like a dam, holding the dreams back creates a build up. When that dam breaks, there’s a flood and normally you would have no sense or reason to your dreams.”</p><p>“He’d be overwhelmed.” There’s Uncle Ned, worried like usual. </p><p>“That’s why I am here.” Granddad takes his claws from his shoulder and moves it up to the back of his neck. “When you dream, the floodgates will open and I will command the currents. That way we can see clearly what the dark has tried to hide.”</p><p>“I understand.” Tony feels nauseous. His stomach twists into knots and his throat feels dry. Anxiety crawls along his skin like a hoard of ants. “I’m ready.”</p><p>Vlad Dracula is this terrifying boogeyman. He’s a warrior and a King. He has more military experience than anyone else in the world. When the King of Romania bares his fangs at you, you better fucking pray to your maker. </p><p>But not to family, not to Tony.</p><p>It promises answers, comfort. Safety. Granddad’s eyes shift but not the black of turned vampires, but the clear white. White like the winter snows of Romania, of home. </p><p>Then his claws sink into his neck and Tony’s gone.</p><p>
  <em> Blonde hair blowing gently in the breeze, it carries the scent of vanilla, peach and apple. There is an island obscured by mist and the full moon glows ominously in the sky above. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He’s shooting pass Earth, pass the moon and Mars toward darkness. He stares into the abyss, there are no stars, and the abyss growls at him. It snarls and spits ice. Ice so cold it burns. A body comes toward him, hurling through the dark, made of rock and ice and dust. It passes him. It speeds toward Earth.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> It burns. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> There is an island obscured by mist, with thick mangroves and tall trees. There is a man in a cave and a blue crystal in his hand. It glows bright blue. The cave crumbles. The crystals fall to the ground, black. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The comet burns but refuses to break apart. It crashes into Earth’s surface. A wave of red, of fire and darkness, of death spreads upon the planet.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The moon glows its light upon her blonde hair. His mate. Her eyes are blue, blue like the crystals. She turns away from him, toward the cliffs. She spreads her arms out wide...and jumps. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> There is an island obscured by mist. A Tower of Light burst from its shadow. There is sand beneath his feet. The sound of waves crashing against the shore. Light pushes against the dark, against the comet. It pushes it away, back into the dark. The abyss moans and moves on.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> But the island is dark. Clouds cover the moon. She doesn’t come back. She is gone. </em>
</p><p>Tony falls into granddad’s waiting arms, sobbing and wailing like a baby.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So. Yeah. That happened.<br/>I tried to keep the info dump to a minimum.<br/>but if you guys saw anything confusing let me know.</p><p>But for the most part most drama happened pre-WW2 and then some of it carried over Post-WW2. It would have been way too much to try and make an actual time line so years and dates are flexible.<br/>If you guys want, I can give a rough age approximation in the next update. But the youngest of the Stark kids are about thirteen/fourteen.</p><p>Vampires have long lives so having kids is usually a slow affair. Also, a person can be born a vampire and the vampires have adapted so well some of the more common weakness are a none issue. Sunlight, silver. Wolfsbane can be used to keep them in a holding cell, jail, etc. But they are really, really hard to kill unless you get up close. (Still very dangerous btw).</p><p>Will touch more on how the Vatican feels about them later.</p><p>I have plans to include familiars. But I couldn't decide if they should have dire wolves or just magical wolves who can do cool things, like channel magic and throw ice shards from their fur.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Making Dragons</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Rikki discovers trespassers on Mako Island. She gets creative getting rid of them.</p><p>Mako approves...</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So I made a Stark Family Tree for those interested...but I can’t paste it onto ao3. I know it’s possible. I’ve seen several accounts for fan art but for some reason my work won’t go up. </p><p>If anyone can help me out that would be much appreciated.</p><p>EDIT: So. I think I got it. The Family Tree that is. Its the hyperlink before the chapter starts. I made it using a Word doc so I think you should be able to see it. Hopefully. Let me know!</p><p>Also, to clarify, ‘Stark’ became their name when Nandine takes it on as an assumed name and afterwards, the family just kept it as a sort of homage to Nandine’s efforts to survive.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <a href="https://1drv.ms/w/s!ApUbttzYtw4LpT6qveSvs0Gv6lGj">Family Tree</a>
</p>
<hr/><p>Rikki hates being here. Hates it with the passion of a thousand fiery suns.  School is as useless as she remembers it being but she won’t argue that getting her certificate had felt good. She might put some more effort into it. Maybe.</p><p>But there was plenty that she did not miss about the place. The boring lectures, the cliques, the gossip, and the homework. Ugh. Rikki could have done without it all. She did miss the girls. She sees them in the hall, even Bella, but they don’t know her. They know of her, sure, probably as Rikki the weird chick but not as the mermaid. These girls weren’t mermaids themselves, either. Rikki had used her powers, which she’s more than glad she still has, to spill water on them and they didn’t react. Oh, they were upset they got wet but there was no rush to hide or clean it off. They also didn’t grow tails. At first she thought they were regular girls, humans through and through. Except, some things didn’t add up. Things Rikki would overhear or something they would do not making sense to her. So, a little more research, which she <em> hates </em> doing, explained a lot of things she saw. Like, why Cleo and Emma have cliques of their own and why some people give Bella a wide berth in the halls. </p><p>Apparently, Cleo is a bloody <em> werewolf </em> , Emma is a vampire or part of one at least and Bella is a banshee. Rikki had no idea what a banshee even was until she did even <em> more </em> research to find out. They were essentially supernatural alarms about someone about to die. Which is just...weird. Too weird to really try and think too much on. </p><p>But it made what Rikki saw throughout the week make some damn sense. Cleo walked with a confidence she only grew into in their last year of high school. There were a few students who reacted to her as if she was their boss or master or something. It had  something to do with pack hierarchy, she knows that much, but telling the difference between who is who is not high on her to do list. </p><p>Emma is similar, still a slicker for the rules and with her own little...cult (she’s not sure that’s the right word but whatever), and they follow her word like its law, too. There aren’t too many but enough that everyone else gets out of the way pretty quickly. Bella is the only one without a group outside of Will. (Thank Mako <em> something </em> is familiar here). She’s the most normal of the three, the most like how Rikki knows her. Although, the three do have lunch together and every once in a while someone will try to sit with them, like Zane or Miriam. Sometimes, they let them and other times, the other kids in their groups chase them off.</p><p>Lewis is also with Cleo and very much ‘untouchable’. She’s seen them cuddling around school but from the looks of things he’s still the same bubbly, nerdy Lewis. She hasn’t seen Ash so if he’s dating Emma she has no clue. Beyond that, there are guards that pick them up every day. In what looks like armored SUVs. It would be weird if she didn’t see what looked liked reporters loitering outside the school grounds, cameras snapping away each time they even catch so much as a glimpse of the other girls or is it just one of them?</p><p>There are still things she doesn’t know. Things that confuse her.</p><p>Luckily, Rikki is good at going unnoticed. </p><p>No one will know if she’s unfamiliar with anything if there’s no one to ask her or anyone close enough to see her learning about the new things in this world. <em> It is not fine </em> <b> <em>. </em> </b>It’s fine.</p><p>Rikki cut her research short. She couldn’t spend all her time doing research. Someone would notice <em> that </em> change about her. On the upside, knowing they were showing up Zane and Miriam was great entertainment. It gave her a great laugh and after the first week of school that’s something the mermaid needs. </p><p>She may have given up on doing anymore research for the week but that just means the mermaid has more time to notice the differences as they are around her. Rikki is also determined to enjoy her swim after all the crazy she had to endure this week. Even before she became a mermaid, Rikki was good at being ignored and getting around school. She was the freaky, weird chick after all and no one wants to be like her or be near her.</p><p>Whatever. </p><p>Rikki didn’t care about the sheep before and she could care less about them now. The girls, her friends who aren’t her friends here, look happy enough without her and that’s fine by her. Rikki is here because there’s something she has to do and the others not being mermaids means they don’t have any part in it. It means they’re safe and Rikki can live with that.</p><p>So, it’s easy for her to listen to all the rumors and pretend she just happens to be near to hear all the <em> fun </em> things people know about each other. It also makes it easy to avoid everyone, not that there was anyone who seemed to pay particular attention to her. Everything was like it was before she was a mermaid. The loner, the odd one out. </p><p><em> The only mermaid in a very big ocean </em>.</p><p>It made Rikki feel more alone than ever.</p><p>But that didn’t matter. She probably wasn’t here to make friends. Magic did this to her. Mako island, the moon pool, and it had to be for a reason. So whatever that reason is, Rikki needed to be ready. </p><p>She spent the afternoons after school  going back to the fossil to estimate how long it is and how big of a box she needed to carry it. Rikki already worked out who to take it to for appraisal and a little search gave her an estimate for how much she can expect to get for it. She would be useless if they’re forced to move because her dad can’t make the rent so it would be better to head off that particular problem early. With a few thousand, they’d be more than able to take care of any bills that crop up. This specific fossil had fetched a lot, too. </p><p>Getting the fossil to the surface hadn’t been the hard part, she’s had years to perfect strategies to get her deep sea finds to the surface and she made sure to be extra careful getting it out of the rock without cracking or damaging it. A rental boat, a big enough box, and excessive use of her powers gets her prize on the boat. Plus renting diving gear and emptying out the air tanks to make it seem like they were used. Then it's a boring ride back to shore, again, using her powers to stay dry. </p><p>The actual negotiations took the longest part. They had spent another two hours hacking out an exchange that left Rikki one fossil lighter and about seventeen thousand dollars in her account. </p><p>While she was scanning the check they gave her with her phone, (<em> she wondered at the technology difference between the world before and this world now. Something had to be the cause and it makes her think about what other changes she’ll come across in this new world </em> ). When the check cleared, another doctor had already come in and started <em> fawning </em> over the fossil. Since her job was done, Rikki left and ended up getting home late, tired and hungry. </p><p>She almost didn’t go to school the next day with how tired she was. Between, all the research, school, spying on the other students, and fossil diving, this week really wore her out. That’s why she is more than happy to get out and go for a very long and work-free swim. </p><p>Today was also the day of the full moon. Rikki might just get her answers tonight. </p><p>“Oh, Rikki,” Miriam’s annoying voice speaks up from behind her. She looks over her shoulder, suspicious, as she closes her locker to see the other girl looking her over. “I might have a blank invitation for you.”</p><p>“Ugh.” Rikki rolls her eyes. “Save it. I’d rather not waste my time.”</p><p>She didn’t want to go to Miriam’s pool party before and she wasn’t going to go now. Especially since the girl keeps having them and this one is supposed to be the ‘best’ one of their entire high school years. This party is supposed to celebrate Emma’s win in the last swim competition. Rikki had better things to do than waste her time with people she didn’t even care for. (Or risk exposing herself to a group of teenagers). As popular as Cleo and the others are, they are also still teenagers looking for a good time and if it’s one thing Zane and Miriam know how to do, it’s throw a party. Rikki has a job to do and until she finds out what that is, high school will just have to wait.</p><p>“Hey, Rikki-“ The blonde doesn’t hear Bella calling out to her, already hurrying away and disappearing into the crowd. It never occurs to her to wonder why they know her name at all.</p>
<hr/><p>She spends the next few hours exploring the reef, relearning it’s secret crevices and trenches. The fish and sharks hover, sometimes rubbing against her, tasting the magic along her skin. (<em> Here in the ocean there is no hiding what she is. No concealing the magic that oozes out of every pore and scale and strand of hair). </em> The reef welcomes her, soaking and basking in the waves of her magic, shared with every motion of her tail. There is relief, too, though Rikki cannot see or hear it. Relief that a Guardian swims these waters once again.</p><p>The moon will soon rise over Mako and the water calls, the moon pool calls. Rikki doesn’t fight the pull and turns from her exploration to speed toward Mako.</p><p>It feels like she never left, like she’s spent her whole life here. She feels something important happening and nothing happening at all. Mako sings to her, its magic urging her home, to the moon pool.  She thinks nothing of it, until she hears them. People. Mako is warning her about people in the moon pool cave.  With a gesture of her hand, Rikki cloaks and spies from the underwater tunnel entrance. No one’s in the pool and there’s none near the edge to give her a good look at them. She stays hidden as she softly breaks the water’s surface. They can’t see her unless they look really hard but they’re not even looking in her direction, so she drops the cloak.</p><p>It’s a couple, a guy and a girl, looking around. Sometimes, they’d touch the moon rock along the walls and then they’d turn to one another to kiss. </p><p>“This place is amazing.” The girl, a brunette, pushes herself against him and starts to grind against him. “I’m not surprised so many people want it. I can practically taste the magic in the air.”</p><p>The air in Rikki’s lungs seems to freeze. Magic? They’re here for the magic in Mako? Why? What are they? What do they want it for? What do they <em> know </em>?</p><p>“Mhm.” The guy, another brunette, moans and sucks at her neck. “All we have to do is claim it for ourselves. Shouldn’t be too hard since no one’s watching the place.”</p><p>Fury rushes through her, her eyes narrow down on the couple. They weren’t like Ryan, looking for fame. They wanted magic, power. They wanted something that was not theirs simply because they thought they <em> could </em>. She tries to rein in her temper. Rikki does learn from her mistakes and she knows setting them on fire won’t get what she wants. The mermaid wants them gone and she wants to make sure no one else comes looking for the moon pool.</p><p>Her heart beats erratically in her chest.  They know where the moon pool is. Who else knows? Who else have they told? How did they find it? How could she keep them from coming back?</p><p>They’re obviously not normal. Not regular humans. So they have to be supernatural of some kind. </p><p>...What scares them? What creature is so terrifying that no one crosses them? </p><p>Rikki mentally goes over everything she researched in her head. Thoughts and information racing, hurrying through all the creatures she’s read about because the moon will be up any minute and she needs to get them out of here. Just like they needed to get Ryan and Sofie out of the moon pool all those years ago. </p><p>The idea comes to her right then. She knows exactly what to do.</p><p>Dragons are rare but they still exist. The most important part is that no one goes stomping around a dragon’s territory. Everyone gives them a wide berth. She can do that. She can make them think they’re trespassing in a dragon’s den. She’s not wrong. She’s not right either. There’s no Will here to stop her, no one to sooth her temper and give her that extra time to think things through. So she doesn’t.</p><p>There’s no hesitation. </p><p>She raises her hand and pulls on her magic, <a href="https://h2o.fandom.com/wiki/Rikki_Chadwick_(JAW)/Gallery?file=S03E18.png">casting</a> and weaving her power to take shape. She wants it to be fierce and powerful, she wants the image and feeling to be one they’ll never forget. If she knew how quickly everything would spiral out of control from this…well...Rikki would partially regret it. Partially.</p>
<hr/><p>The couple don’t notice the storm that forms overhead, not right away. Not even when it blocks out any light from above. They <em> do </em> notice the massive swell in magic and break apart to look around. At first, they think it’s another coven or maybe one of the fae coming to try and make a claim. Not that they could. The fae and faerie were watched pretty closely and the last coven that tried to make a claim was run off, too. </p><p>But the couple had no intention of asking permission. Where the others failed, they planned to succeed even if it meant cheating. Mako Island is a literal hot bed of magical energy and anyone who can lay claim to it is well on their way to the big leagues. It would mean having the power to stand toe to toe with people like the Starks, Martells, Targaryens, and even Witchers! It’s a dream of any budding mage, to be able to have the kind of influence that would make a Witcher look to them with respect and caution. </p><p>But that is a dream and this is reality. It is a different beast, uncaring of delusions and desires. </p><p>“Who’s there?” The girl calls out, voice laced with power, compelling the source to show itself.</p><p>In answer, a shape starts to rise from the water. At first it was plain, pure water, a tentacle and thought someone was trying to make fun of them. Tentacles and mages are still funny to some people. Her boyfriend spread his legs, centering himself, ready to cast a spell of his own. The shape grew thicker, raising itself higher into the large cavern, thickening, and taking form. A face starts to form, followed by scales, arms, and claws. The scales glow an eerie blue, a light shining from somewhere within it’s chest. Its arms flex slowly, stretching thick muscles and stiff claws. Light caught the claw tips, throwing the sharp and deadly ends into sharp relief. But the head...the face, was familiar and foreign. Serpentine, covered in scales and a mouth full of fangs, it’s eyes held sunlight and magic. </p><p>Judgement.</p><p>The couple gasp and tremble, fear striking them hard and fast. Breathing too hard, too fast. It should be impossible. There weren’t any rumors of <a href="https://h2o.fandom.com/wiki/Water_Dragon?file=Mermaids_Against_Water_Dragon.jpg%C2%A0">this</a>-</p><p>-it’s eyes <a href="https://h2o.fandom.com/wiki/Water_Dragon?file=Makomermaids210612.png">glowed</a>, searing into them, studying them, and the cave vibrated with its growl. There’s a cackling sound and they saw sparks out of the corner of their eyes. The walls were sparking with magic, pure magic and the dragon was sucking it in. No. It was letting it go-breathing. It was <em> breathing </em> magic and saturating the air with it. They tried to take a breath of their own but choked.</p><p>It was suffocating them-suffocating them in its magic. It smelt like ozone and sea salt. </p><p>The dragon takes a deeper breath, inhaling like a vortex, and they can see it. The building magic in its chest, glowing and moving. It was going to attack and their fear, built up so rapidly, finally broke them, making them move just in time. The dragon exhales, it’s fire a shearing white-blue, the powering of a dying star and a sun laughing at them. The couple threw themselves to the ground at the side of the cave and turned back to see what damage the dragon fire caused. Only their eyes meet with a cave wall, the same wall they’d run their hands along once solid but now made of water, swallowing the fire before  shifting and returning it to the pool where the dragon had woken from.</p><p>Giving the fire back to the dragon. Feeding it. Empowering it.</p><p>The dragon that is placing a claw onto the sand, to prowl its way onto land. Its bright glowing eyes locked onto them…</p><p>...<em> hunting </em> them, the couple realizes. </p><p>This time they scream. </p><p>The dragon roars, draconian fury, hot and merciless. It lunges, snapping at them, tearing at the girls sweater. The couple scramble for the exit, throwing themselves at the cave wall still made of rock. They trip and claw their way through the narrow tunnel, the dragon’s maw somewhat hindered. The boy looks back while his girlfriend struggles to climb her way out, finger nails breaking and bleeding for her efforts. The dragon growls, the vibrations felt along the ground, the walls and in the air. It pulls back from the opening and they can hear as it inhales, they can feel as the magic starts to grow again. </p><p>He scrambles up after her, pushing her and screaming, yelling at her to go faster. She’s quick to copy how he half climbs and half scales the walls of the cave entrance.</p><p>The dragon roars and this time they can feel the heat from the fire. It's right at their backs, the narrow space making it easy for it to chase them. Both of them tumble out to the cave, crying and screaming. Alive but not unscathed, part of his back is singed but thankfully not burned. It’s hard to breathe, both gasping and choking. Shock is quick to set in. </p><p>“We need to-we need to-“ He chokes on his words, sobbing in relief. </p><p>They’re both shaking, pants wet from soiling themselves in fear. Another roar sends them tumbling and scrambling away from the cave, staggering to the forest edge and back toward the beach. They came by boat and if they’re lucky, the dragon will let them leave. </p><p>Branches and foliage scratch at their ankles and legs, the girl trips and falls to her knees. Nausea grips her and she empties her stomach in the dirt, heaving and sobbing. Her face is wet with tears and snot, drool and vomit still clinging to her face. Her boyfriend drags her to her feet and half drags half carries her forward. </p><p>When they finally get to the boat, he casts a spell on the boat to take them back to the mainland and collapses next to his girlfriend. The boat glides into the water and picks up speed, heading toward safety. They stay huddled at the bottom, shaking and holding onto each other, whispering every protection spell they know.</p><p>Hoping the dragon won’t follow.</p>
<hr/><p>Rikki stares at the tunnel leading to the above entrance before turning to the “dragon” that terrorized them so well. She’s not scared, not of what she made but it’s also clear it’s not under her control anymore. The mermaid can’t be sure but her best guess is that she lost control when the full moon hit its peak above Mako. </p><p>She hasn’t been attacked and glides further into the center of the moon pool, the moon shining down on them, filling the cave with even more magic. The “dragon” circles her, resting its big body at the edges of the moon pool, soaking in the magic just like her. It’s eyes start to turn gold, the same as the streams of gold light bubbling up from the water and surrounding them. </p><p>The magic swells, filling her vision full of light.</p><p>It’s the last thing she remembers...</p>
<hr/><p>“How bad?” The witcher grumbles, not really caring for the answer but needing it all the same. </p><p>He does not look particularly compassionate to a couple of delinquent mages. A facet of the Witcher Doctor Jemma likes considering the situation. </p><p>It’s rumored Witchers were made from a Dragon and the secret to making them is a True Mystery, magic performed independent of Celestial or Divine power and free from the taint of human made Chaos. No one really knows and she doubts this incident will help the mages’ favor. Well, more so any mage above disciple training. Those are the warlocks and sorcerers who are incredible powerhouses on their own. She’s heard Britain’s MI6 has two working for them, a couple also but they’re actually on good terms with the Witchers, so that makes them the exception not the rule.</p><p>Rumor has it the Dragon that made them, did it because sorcerers kidnapped its eldest youngling. A youngling born from the Dragon’s human mate. Jemma has no idea if the human part is true but the current leader of the Witchers is mated to a half breed faerie with a preference for music, so it could be possible?</p><p>The story goes: the Dragon could not find its young and made the Witchers, imbued them with power of creatures that Mankind has hunted and been hunted by in turn. They hunted down the sorcerers who had taken the Dragon’s youngling but the torture and experiments had been too much. It died in its Sire’s arms. In grief, the Dragon charged the Witchers with ensuring such a travesty never happened again and took what remained of its family to the Celestial plane, never to be seen again.</p><p>So began the Great Hunt, where Witchers hunted down every mage who preyed on the weak and the innocent. </p><p>Unfortunately, it was not a time of peace and honor. There were those who took advantage of their noble pursuit, killing innocent witches, mages and creatures to further their own agendas. The church spearheaded this endeavor and their clerics were often accompanied by soldiers paid by the kill count. It’s one of the most blood soaked moments in history.</p><p>Witchers had found themselves trapped in the middle of the conflict and had a choice: Evolve or Die. </p><p>They chose the former. But it was not a seamless transition. It is a chapter flush with gore and blood, with deceit and desperate propaganda. But the result is what is in place today.  A guild whose purpose is, despite numerous attempts from mages and kings, from dictators and presidents, to preserve the balance between the mundane and the mythical. One that is still thriving. One that Jemma knows is the reason she is even alive to practice medicine in the first place. </p><p>“Minor lacerations and 3rd degree burns.” She reports, also not feeling much empathy, especially if the couple’s hysterical ranting is true. She does not want to be caught in the crossfire between them and an angry Witcher. The one thing Witchers don’t hunt is Dragons and if these two are being truthful... “The biggest damage is the magical exhaustion, the boat they’d washed up in was heavy with protection magic. They were still casting when they were found.”</p><p>The Witcher grunts, lips twitching in an effort to hold back a smirk.  It is a bit funny when one thinks about it. If that Dragon really felt like it, not even their supercharged little boat would have saved them from being killed.  According to the Witcher next to her anyway. He’s a tall man, who introduced himself using the name Diego, if it is his true name or not she cannot tell. He has a head full of dark hair and a trim beard. His armor is dark, almost black with spikes on the shoulders and upper arms. She can feel the enchantments on it, warm and sunny to her inner eye. Maybe even cast by the White Wolf’s mate, if those rumors about his magic are true.</p><p>Her own magical ability is nothing special or grandiose but as a White Witch, her skill is essential for her work. Part of her skill set includes noticing anything abnormal to a beings’ natural state. However, she’s not able to read much from the couple or their injuries since they’re so minor. There isn’t enough of a signature to pinpoint who or what is the responsible party. It is enough to know it's not <em>normal</em> damage. </p><p>If the couples’ story has even a grain of truth to it Jemma might just meet the White Wolf and his mate. She might belong to the weakest of the mage cast but she is also part the most numerous with the least contemptuous relationship with Witchers, <em> and </em> she is the receiving physician for this case. She might be able to get an autograph!</p><p>“But besides the hysteria and the exhaustion there’s also signs of magical backlash.” She continues her report, moving to the bottom of the bed for the boy, Jacob Rinde, to input her findings. The girl, Nicole Boolt, was already sedated. On top of that, Jemma had them restrained using impure dimeritium cuffs. Not enough to cause further harm but enough to keep their magic from lashing out at others in the hospital. “That damage is not man made. It’s like something burnt the ‘nerves’ of their magic. It was deliberate, with perfect control. It causes pain without causing lasting damage.”</p><p>“A warning.”</p><p>“I agree.” Jemma turns to Diego, “Something powerful, with perfect control and sentient enough to know how to hold back.” </p><p>“From the…?” The doctor nods, face passive, professional.</p><p>“My guess is that there might be some truth to their story. I’ve never encountered one before so I cannot give a definitive answer.”</p><p>“Looks like I’m making a trip to Mako Island.”</p><p>“I wish you the best Sir.”</p><p>If there really is a Dragon living on an island off the Gold Coast, what does that mean? Is it one of the offspring from the Dragon who made the Witchers? Is it a completely different Dragon? Why is it here instead of the Celestial plane? </p><p>Hmm, Jemma knows a Green Witch who works at the docks, maybe they would know? It couldn’t hurt to ask. Oh! There’s also an apprentice in HR and her mother is still living in Brisbane. Maybe she’ll know someone or something? <em> Someone </em> has to have an idea about what could bring a Dragon around here.</p>
<hr/><p>Rickon, Peter and Dyanna are a trio of terror. The kitchen is covered in cool whip, whip cream and sprinkles. There is, underneath all the white and rainbow confetti, a cake that is slightly burnt. Triss was already prepared to clean it but Lyanna put her foot down, fangs bared at the kids. </p><p>So they’ve been stuck cleaning it up themselves. Which is good for some of the adults as it gives them a much needed chance to come to accept the current situation. Tony is still shaken, <a href="https://alchetron.com/cdn/alexandra-daddario-446a514f-797e-4fc8-b122-48b0c7c204e-resize-750.jpeg">Blake</a>, Sansa and <a href="http://www.teenidols4you.com/blink/Actors/garrett_hedlund/garrett_hedlund_1216192825.jpg">Erik</a> staying close. Meanwhile Robb, Jon and Torrhen keep the younger siblings distracted with whatever they can think of. It’s only a temporary solution, they know, because they’re Starks and there is very little that can be hidden from them. Peter will notice soon and Tony could never deny his brother anything, not even the truth.</p><p>It is also near impossible to hide how it has affected Vlad. Something has rattled their grandfather, their King and their parents. Nothing like this has not happened since Uncle Ned’s forced marriage and now, it looks like Tony is at the center of this new conflict. It is a bitter realization, for all the good that their family enjoys, there are moments like this that threaten to steal all that happiness away.</p><p>Vlad has mainly kept to the office, speaking with his eldest children, exchanging ideas and theories. Their first goal is to find the girl. There is very little they can do against a threat if they don’t know who the target is or what could happen to cause her death. That means they need a way to narrow down their focus on location. </p><p>They know about the island, now to find it. How many are there in the world? How many have volcanoes and how many of those are active and dormant? The image of the moon is large and imposing, but what about the stars? What constellations are there and can the island be tracked using them?   Unfortunately, after the first two days of trying to come up with solutions, he dismissed everyone and urged them to try and take their mind off of it. They were still too on edge to think clearly. With no one at their best, some time away from the problem was required. </p><p>But how can one take their mind off of it when Tony is right there? When it is his mind, his soul, that hangs in the balance. Fates, the boy hasn’t even reached his first century! Never has Vlad felt every one of his years as he does this entire week. </p><p>He desperately tries to enjoy the time with most of his family present. Their lives have progressed with the times, busy with the careers, duties and families they’ve made for themselves. He could not be more proud to see his descendents thrive so beautifully. But he is also greatly disheartened to see the effect hardship has had on them. Ned’s cursed contract and now Tony’s endangered mate. It hangs around them like a weight.</p><p>Their lack of progress had frayed his nerves, his thoughts spinning constantly out of his control and he does not know what to do. He does not know how to fix this. Every new problem his family has faced so far is new and not what he imagined for this time but that is the nature of progress, is it not? To be unknown and unpredictable. </p><p>Vlad simply wished it did not come to bite his family in the hide as it seems to enjoy doing. But he has adapted. He’s made allies, gathered resources, and negotiated treaties in an effort to prepare for the worst his family could encounter. While the most devastating dangers are still present, his work helped his family overcome many hardships throughout the years, including avoiding that mess with the Crusades. </p><p>There are some consequences to what he has done for his family, of course. Consequences to amassing power as he has, as his family has continued to do on their own and the relationships they have fostered throughout the years. That is, never quite being off the clock.</p><p>The Stark family had just sat down for dinner which is in no way a traditional dinner. With how many of them there are, no table could actually seat them all. But that was fine. They sprawled wherever they could find a seat and staff brought out the food buffet style, knowing the Starks could take care of themselves. There are also pitchers of blood clearly marked for the non-vampire guests.  The mates of the Starks while unused to the more royal aspects of the vampires but find some relief in the informal dinners, bonding with the other soulmates and the rest of the Starks.</p><p>Some of the older Starks had taken seats at the dining table, Cregan taking a seat at the second, smaller table with his cousins and the youngest choosing to camp in the sitting room with Tony and Peter.  The tables are arranged in an open space and the seating room is parallel and lets all the adults answer their children. It makes for a lovely amount of chaos.</p><p>“Sir,” Vlad’s butler passes a folded paper. “Holding on line one.”</p><p><em> Holding on line one </em>, is not just a saying in the Stark family, personal or in business.  It is a phrase used to describe an unexpected Crisis.  All phone calls are screened and sorted using one of Tony’s A.I.s which makes prioritizing such individuals.  (Gregory is a huge helping hand to his nephew in this case, making sure Tony has everything he needs).  Their relationships with others and the rapid growth of technology has prompted new protocol. The phrase is meant to tell the recipient that the call cannot wait. Silence descends upon everyone. Vampires’ hearing makes it impossible for the butler’s words to be missed, even though he hadn’t been trying to. </p><p>When Vlad reads what’s written on the paper, places his half filled wine glass down on the table and pulls out his cell phone, accepting the call. Another alarm for the rest of the family.  Normally, grandfather would pick either Benjen or Ned for a diplomatic problem. Gregory for anything America related, Lyanna for her ties to the Targaryns and the manufacturing of the artificial blood, and Brandon for anything with magic. Vlad usually keeps his eyes on the UN and rogue mages.</p><p>“Geralt.” </p><p>Peter, Rickon, and Dyanna don’t even pretend not to pay attention. Everyone knows the name of the Witcher King. He is the only person granddad Vlad considers a friend and who the Stark family can trust is not out to take advantage of them. The man has many names and titles, monikers that various people and beings have attached to him.</p><p>The White Wolf, The Witcher King, He Who Passes Fair Judgment Beneath The Stars, and The King Who Speaks To Dragons.  The last two titles gained from encounters he’s had with races like vampires and demons where humans were in the wrong and where the Witcher had answered a call for help from another Dragon.  His reputation is Legend and on par with King Dracula. But for him to call the vampire king like this must be an emergency no one’s seen since before WWII at least.</p><p>“There are rumors of a Dragon in Australia.” The Witcher King’s voice crackles artificially over the phone to the other vampires’ hearing. It makes it hard to hear any sort of emotion underneath his stoicism. “The only witnesses are a pair of traumatized mages.”</p><p>“Trespassing I’m guessing?”</p><p>“They were aiming for Mako Island, a Source in the middle of the ocean.”</p><p>“An island in the middle of the ocean?” Vlad frowns, “That wouldn't happen to be the same piece of land the Fae have been raving about for the past one hundred and fifty years would it?”</p><p>“The same.”</p><p>“The one they were ‘unduly exiled’ from but refuse to say by who or what?” Geralt chuckles darkly in reply. “I’m guessing you want a few of us there to deter any from the Summer and Winter court from interfering.”</p><p>“I would appreciate it, yes.” Another voice is distantly heard in the background. “My lark says this would be the time they’d try for it. He’s right, too. It won’t be long before the media picks up the story and it gains international attention.”</p><p>“And they won’t be trying to play fair, either.” King Vlad bares his fangs to no one, mind focused on an opponent only he can see. “There will be a sizable contingent to try and counter any claim suits for the island. Are there any protections already in place?”</p><p>“Fortunately, it's not America or some billionaire would have bought it by now.” Geralt rumbles, “But the island does have some protection as a preserve and it does have a large conservation following in the area.”</p><p>“That will be what they strike at first.” </p><p>“Hmm.”</p><p>“Have you sent someone to the island yet?”</p><p>“Had a Witcher in the area on patrol, reported the incident before going to check out the island.”</p><p>“Nothing?” Vlad frowns.</p><p>“Nothing.” The White Wolf confirmed. “The place is saturated in magic. The mages left a trail a drunk hunter could follow. He thinks he found a den but can’t confirm it belongs to a Dragon.”</p><p>“Too much magic?”</p><p>“He told me I should have it placed under quarantine.” The silence in the room, deepens.</p><p>Because not being able to confirm a Dragon is not the same as being positive it is <em> not </em> a Dragon. The high concentration of magic would mask any “scent” left by a being living there. So even if a Dragon lived there, it would be hard to prove unless other physical proof is present like hair or scales. But for the Witcher to suggest a quarantine on the island is as good as an unofficial confirmation. </p><p>“If you do, you’ll have our support.” Vlad answers, understanding better than anyone else, how important this is. “I’ll have some out there before the week is out.”</p><p>“Appreciate it.” </p><p>“Send our love to yours.” Barely a second passes after the call ends before Benjen is volunteering.</p><p>“I can go.”</p><p>"...after you are done here." Vlad agrees after taking a few seconds to think it through. "Call me when you find something."</p><p>Granddad dismisses the matter with a wave of his hand and even though the story is obviously at the forefront of their minds, Vlad is no longer up for talking about it. Triss, Pepper and Margarey, while curious, are told in hushed tones what the conversation was about. To keep from alienating them and because neither of their mates would try to keep it from them in the first place.</p><p>But no one is happy about this new development, especially with the revelation made from Tony's soul dream. No. Not one of them is happy at all. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ages for the kids:</p><p>Rheanys: 28<br/>Cregan: 24<br/>Aegon:21<br/>Robb, Jon, Torrhen: 19<br/>Sansa, Tony, Erik, Blake: 17<br/>Daemon, Arya: 16<br/>Bran:15<br/>Rickon, Peter and Dyanna: 14/13</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Visit</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Enter the Witcher Diego (yes, just like Umbrella Academy) and Vampire Benjen Stark. </p><p>They get close. But is it close enough?</p><p>Rikki is definitely not in control. </p><p>WARNING! Graphic mention of corpses. Species bodies displayed in public. Etc.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“A Mermaid does not fear the depths, for she is no stranger of the darkness and the cold. It was the darkness that made her scales shine so brightly, and it was the cold that made her heart so warm. She does not fear the deep for she has been to the bottom and knows that she can rise." -Mermaid Phantom (The Magic Crafter)</p><hr/><p>
  <em>The ocean is full of blood, scales are rendered and torn. Claws and teeth clash with brute magic. The corpses that float to the top, young and beautiful, are snatched before they can be reclaimed. Greedy hands, human tainted hands, cutting and dismembering, hungry. Insatiable. </em>
</p><p><em> They should all </em> <b> <em>die</em></b><em>. </em></p><p>-Rikki jerks awake, a scream trapped in her throat. She’s shaking, and her face feels stiff, like she had been crying. She rubs her face and finds dried tear tracks left on her cheeks. The blonde staggers from her bed, still shaken, and looking around, looking for what is different. It’s been years since she’d been moonstruck, since she had no idea what happened during the full moon.</p><p>But this time it was different. It’s not like the first year the girls changed and not like the year with the meteor. This was Mako, reaching out, trying to tell her something. Unlike with the meteor, this wasn’t as desperate. It was more...a warning, trying to whisper something in her ear. A secret only for her to hear...</p><p>Rikki shakes off the last shreds of her nightmare and goes to get ready for the rest of the day. She made it to her bedroom some time this morning or last night and she needed to wash off the stress from yesterday.  A few hours later she wanders away from home to go where her feet take her.  She’s aimless, mostly. There’s no one looking for her, looking to spend time with her or worry about her. Shopping is an idea but she’s holding off for a bit. Maybe watching a movie? Rikki sees the Juice net on her walk, thinks about stepping in for a juice, and keeps walking. </p><p>A foul stench breaks her nostalgia. She looks around to see where it could be coming from and sets her sights on a growing crowd near the beach. Rikki had tried to steer clear of the ocean for the day, knowing her pull to the water is sensitive right now. An itch she can and cannot scratch. </p><p>She steps closer. </p><p>Her connection to Mako bursts to life, hums in her ears like a song she’s never heard but knows is familiar.  Rikki follows it, letting herself be carried closer to where the crowds are gathered. She notices some of her classmates and none of them look happy at whatever it is they're looking at. They look scared. Maybe. She’s not sure. There are cameras and news crews gathered around and in front of the crowd, too. Some of them are talking, mics poised professionally, and others are streaming from the tops of their vans. It’s surreal.  </p><p>The mermaid turns away from them and makes her way closer to the beach, sliding and carefully pushing her way to get a better view. She freezes, coming to an abrupt stop. </p><p>Bodies. </p><p>Rikki’s eyes go wide and she gasps, choking on the terrible smell permeating the air.  She covers her mouth in a futile attempt to filter out the stench but she can’t look away from the sight before her.  There are so many of them. A column of bodies along the beach. Pale, bleached, and dead. Flies and birds honed in on the feast of carcasses.</p><p>They weren’t human even though they were human shaped. The legs were too long, the eyes too wide, too big, almost doll-like. Alien. Even the hair is white and brittle. </p><p>But. It is more than that. Rikki’s eyes zero in on the corpses. </p><p>Their jaws are missing. Birds picked at the open orifice, cawing and calling out to each other while workers tried valiantly to shoo them away.  The torsos and legs are separated, like the two ends were pulled apart before being thrown back on the sand together.  The intestines are just scattered on the sand for the birds to eat.  There is blood, <em> everywhere </em>.  It saturated the air, polluted the waves as they crashed along the shore, and the sand looked almost stained with it.  The bodies have to have been here for hours, since last night, at the very least. </p><p>Nausea rolled her stomach, made it twist and for a moment she thought she’d lose her breakfast.  She can hear muttering from the crowd, <em> ‘tidelanders’ </em> and <em> ‘mothers’ </em> and <em> ‘sirens’ </em> are words she hears but cannot really grasp at the moment.  Just as suddenly, the feeling evaporates and a calm washes over her and the stench, the nausea, all of it fades away.  Rikki could hear it, feel it beneath her skin. This is a message- </p><p>-<em> ‘a gift.’  </em></p><p>A gift for <em> her </em>. </p><p>“What-” happened? </p><p>The Dragon. It was in the moonpool with her. Magic gave it form, gave it life, and then Rikki passed out. She had a nightmare or she thought she did, was it actually about this? Was this happening while she slept? Or is it something else entirely? She didn’t know but she could guess that Dragon could take on all of these things without breaking a sweat. </p><p>Rikki needed answers and she knew where to get them. She turns away from the beach and starts to make her way to Mako. She misses the sharp golden eyes searching the crowd, just as she disappears into the shadow of the bystanders. </p><hr/><p>Benjen arrives late in the afternoon.  He’d left sooner than any of the family had expected or wanted to.  Barely a few hours after dawn the next day had passed before the Witcher King was calling granddad again, talking about corpses on the beach and then it was international news.  As Benjen steps off one of the family’s private jets and into a private car, he rubs his temples, trying to soothe the ache there.  He’d looked over the video footage and the autopsy photos. All of the corpses were sirens, a species completely separate from mermaids despite often being used interchangeably and a younger aquatic race that irrefutably came <em> after </em> the extinction of the mermaids. </p><p>And all of them have been positioned in the Old Way, as ritual offerings.</p><p>Granddad had the fortune of encountering a mermaid once, a long time ago when he’d been a young vampire and that was the last time any record of the mythical creature was ever seen. Afterwards, there were more and more sightings of the sirens and the American mermaids. Granddad refused to endorse either groups, finding them both a disgrace to the female he had met so many centuries ago. (According to family rumor, the mermaid had actually been a friend, helping ground Dracula when he had no one, before he had ever even met the White Wolf.)  The current situation, while unprecedented, has not changed the Stark family’s stance on the lesser species, but leads to a Stark being critical to trying to keep the peace surrounding all of this. </p><p>Still, the ritualistic offering delivers one hell of a message, to the recipient and to the world. It has been blasted all over the news for everyone to see. The tidelanders, hybrids of the sirens and humans although not officially recognized as a protected species, have already started an uproar on social media. They’re seeing this as an attack, a hate crime, and that could not be further from the truth. </p><p>It is the settling of a feud. An ancient one at that. </p><p>This is Benjen’s first time seeing one. It is intimidating to be sure and paired with an unconfirmed report of a Dragon, shaping up to be worse than it looks. Are these sirens the reason for the Dragon’s appearance? Was it here to settle a grudge? There’s so little that they know of and it's giving the vampire a headache. He arrives at his hotel and hardly has to wait ten minutes before the Witcher arrives.</p><p>“Diego.” Benjen offers his hand as the door opens. The guards on his floor were already briefed to let the man through security.</p><p>“Stark.” He greets the vampire, taking his hand before moving to the table in the sitting room and putting down a substantial folder. “We’re in deep shit.”</p><p>“On the Dragon or the sirens?” </p><p>The medallion around his neck is shaped like a wolf, so one of the White Wolf’s pups and often known for being the most blunt of the Witcher Schools. No doubt he grew up on stories of Dragons from his pack Elders and his pack Alpha, so any evidence of a Dragon is going to be taken seriously.</p><p>“Both.” He opens the folder and displays several photos. “The offerings are definitely a present for someone and I’m sure they saw it, too.”</p><p>Benjen raises both eyebrows in shock. “Really?”</p><p>“They couldn’t move the bodies.” Diego’s golden eyes shine bright in the room and into Benjen’s, tense but certain. “My medallion could feel the magic holding the bodies on the beach. Couldn't dispel it or contain it. It ate away at any attempts to move them until around eleven yesterday.”</p><p>“There was a crowd there, bystanders and news crews. You think it was someone from there.”</p><p>“My medallion practically screamed at me, there was someone there with a massive magical connection and then they were gone.” Diego frowns. “When they left, so did whatever was binding the corpses to the beach.”</p><p>“And you were able to move the bodies, then.”</p><p>“Right.” The Witcher nods once. “That’s where the other issue comes in.”</p><p>“The Dragon.”</p><p>This time Diego pulls out other photos, a couple of teens and with the name on the bottom Benjen knows they’re the mages that originally had the encounter with the Dragon. The other man hands the vampire several graph charts and a few pages from what is obviously a medical file.  Benjen is no doctor but there is a summary detailing the damage and the evidence to support it.</p><p>“There is a slight energy signature-”</p><p>“-and it has no known matches in the current database.”</p><p>“No surprise, of course. But the same signature that was on the mages was also on the corpses on the beach.”</p><p>“...fuck.” </p><p>What Benjen is referring to is the magical equivalent of human fingerprinting and it is actually a new invention, made only ten years ago. But for anything older than that and has had no contact with a Witcher, it’s pretty useless. Since Witchers are constantly on patrol, they are in constant contact with various beings and species, and it’s easy for them to carry around a transmitter to log signatures into the system. Howard invented the system (with help and input from Tony and Greg of course) to assist Witchers track criminals internationally. </p><p>A Dragon’s magical signature would be one of the bare handful not in the database.</p><p>“There’s no match to anything human or anything is there?” Benjen asks but he already knows the answer.</p><p>“Nothing human or even remotely humanoid. No matches for anything, any species, in the database. Not even for a Witcher.”</p><p>“You really think it’s a Dragon.”</p><p>Instead of answering, Diego displays more photos on the table. This time it is woodland, trees and bush. Benjen is no master hunter but he can see that branches have been broken, the ground is obviously disturbed and even scorched by something like fire, making a hazardous trail. The next set of the photos is centered around a cave opening in the ground and various shots of the area around it. Without the picture of where this opening is specifically, the vampire thinks he might have missed it. The rock formations and the rushing river hide its location if he didn’t know where to look. </p><p>“The place is saturated with the same scent…” Diego trails off, looking pointedly at the vampire across from him, before placing the last pictures in front of him. “...and the same magical signature.”</p><p>The last photos are...beautiful. There’s a pool of water, bright blue and walls covered in dark rock, possibly volcanic in nature. These photos, however, were taken using a special feature to capture magical energy on camera. The results are no less than stunning. Everything is awash in gold light, bubbles in various sizes converge over every image. </p><p>“It’s beautiful.” Benjen answers after a long silence. </p><p>“I showed these to the White Wolf,” The vampire doesn’t look up, can’t tear his eyes away from the pictures. He’s never seen or heard anything like it. “He says he’s on his way.”</p><p>“What?!” The Stark snaps his head up so fast he almost rips the photo in his hand. “Wh-ho-he-ngh!”</p><p>He trips over his own words, unable to string a single word together. Because the White Wolf has never left his keep. Hell, no one is even sure where the fortress even is. He’s sure granddad does but he’s never given a hint about where it is. But it’s an open secret that Vlad and Geralt are close enough that the vampire has a standing invitation and has on occasion taken the Witcher King up on his offer. Benjen carefully places the picture down on the table.</p><p>“Is he aware…” He takes in a deep breath, hoping to stave off his growing anxiety. “...that if he does so, he will fuel rumors about there being an actual Dragon living off the coast of Australia?”</p><p>“There are already rumors.” Diego’s lips curl into a silent snarl. “No one’s connected anything yet. But it won’t take long. People know I’m here and that I went to investigate the island our delinquents were trapezing through. They also know I didn’t come back with a head.”</p><p>“I’m guessing it was made worse when you had to keep going back.” Ben closes his eyes and rubs at his temple, the throbbing headache back with a vengeance. “Fuck.” </p><hr/><p>The Young One leans against the rock in the moon pool, tail floating lazily behind her. It glitters and shines, not unlike when gold catches the light. Were any human to gaze upon her, they would be mesmerized. Unable to defend themselves from her magical prowess or her nearly unnatural beauty. Hidden behind a shroud of humanity so strong, only the oldest of the land would be able to even see a hint of what it masks. She watches Them, curious, and undaunted. </p><p>They know she is unaware. She does not know and They have shared what they can. Not everything. They share a little at a time. She came to Them, like They knew she would, asking questions They cannot speak the answers to.  That is fine. There are other ways, other solutions to a simple barrier, and she takes so well to it. They knew she would, knew she would adapt and understand the most out of her sisters.</p><p>The bonds that exist between them, They can see them, sparkling and pulled taunt. Unbroken. </p><p>But this one is what They need. Out of all her sisters, this one feels the strongest, she who has the deepest bond with Them. She is healthy and strong, her old life was full of bountiful freedoms and a unique loneliness, shared by few.  Still, the Young One was ever persistent and stove forward, uncompromising and powerful beyond her own understanding. </p><p>Reckless. Fearless. They place all Their hopes within her. Time is precious.</p><p><em> Yggdrasil </em> cannot wait forever.</p><hr/><p>It’s already nearing sundown by the time they get out to the island. The boat is small, practical, meant for the two of them. What they go to see is only for their eyes anyway. As they speed toward the shore, Benjen takes note of the water police patrolling the area. Not too close to infringe on a Dragon’s terrority, if there is one, but not too far to keep people away if they get too close.</p><p>Having one incident with trespassers is one too many.</p><p>The two men say nothing once they get to shore. They secure the boat and Diego leads the way, only to stop before they get too far along the path.</p><p>“What is it?” Ben peers over his shoulder but he makes no move to go past the Witcher.</p><p>“The path...it’s disappearing.” </p><p>“What?” Benjen moves his eyes over the ground and foliage where Diego motions with his hand.</p><p>For a moment he doesn't understand and then his inhuman eyes catch it. His breath catches in his chest when he sees the path vanish, just a little. It isn’t quick but it is fast growth for plants. The ground grows new grass, flowers, and the trees appear to be straightening themselves. It's a kind of magic he’s never seen before. Little by little the damage is mended but if Benjen had not seen the photos Diego brought earlier he would not know that something had changed. </p><p>“It's growing back.”</p><p>“Or covering it’s tracks.” Diego warns and starts moving, quicker than before. </p><p>Benjen sticks close, getting lost would not help them and there is no telling what the consequences would be if they came across what killed the sirens so brutally. While Benjen has had training in combat, including the best ways to use his vampire heritage to maximum efficiency, that does not mean Benjen is a fighter. Especially for something so deadly as to attack and kill full grown sirens. No, that is a skillset best left to the Witchers.</p><p>They move forward to quickly reach the cave entrance. It looks exactly like the photo without the lense. If Benjen had not seen that, if he did not already know what lay inside, he would think this the entrance to some animal nest. Or, more likely, he would have missed this opening entirely. </p><p>No doubt, like it was intended to.</p><p>They go down into the dark. Were they completely human, it would have taken them a moment or two to adjust from daylight to the dark of the cave. As it stands, they are not and while Benjen takes a moment to study the formation of the cave around them, Diego creeps closer to the other end. Benjen has no idea how this cave could have formed the way it has. It was strange and it lends credence to the idea of magic having a hand in its creation. The vampire stops his studying when the Witcher freezes at the opening to the other end of the tunnel. </p><p>Benjen walks on silent feet toward the hunter, making sure to make his heart beat so as not to startle the other. He makes eye contact but the other remains silent, head tilted, listening so he does the same. At first he hears nothing, then the soft trickle of water falling into water and...a heartbeat? Was there someone or something there?</p><p>It is similar to a human, steady and easy to follow, but a little faster, a little to the left. To Benjen it's like the difference between an acoustic and a bass guitar. </p><p>Diego takes a step forward, steps silent, a hunter in his element. Benjen waits and takes three steps behind him, just as quiet. Making noise is a courtesy to the humans around them but it is not their natural inclination. Moving through the tunnel and toward the center chamber quietly is easy if a bit nerve racking. The Witcher has a hand on his sword but does not draw it and steps closer to the chamber.</p><p>He stops.</p><p>Benjen stills, all he can see is blue, probably some kind of light reflecting off the water in the center. He recalls there is a sizable pool in the chamber, in the center of the volcano. But he didn’t expect it to be so bright.</p><p>Diego straightens and walks forward. His hand falls from his sword. Benjen follows, taking in the chamber with his own eyes in awe.</p><p>“It’s gorgeous.”</p><p>“Yeah.” Diego is distracted, leaning close to the water’s edge. </p><p>The vampire explores the edge of the chamber, hands skimming over the cave walls. It is volcanic, of a type that glimmers when the light hits it a certain way. It is certainly pretty. The longer his hands run along the rock surface, the clearer the magic becomes to his senses. It is definitely rich and potent enough to give a coven one hell of a power jump.</p><p>No wonder those two felt they could gorge themselves on the magic here. </p><p>Fortunately, Benjen is powerful enough in his own right he doesn’t feel the pull to try and devour it himself. His youngest nieces and nephews would have a hard time being here since they don’t have the training to withstand something like this just yet. But chances are his granddad will need to make a trip here since the White Wolf is making an appearance. </p><p>“Fuck.”</p><p>The vampire turns on his heel to the hunter at the water edge. He’s on his hands and knees, nose pressed close to the rock. No doubt taking in whatever scents he can. Benjen steps closer, concerned. </p><p>“What is it?”</p><p>“A youngling. Female, adolescent. Sea water and…” Diego furrows his brows, “...vanilla, peach and apple. Sulfur and burning stone. Ozone.”</p><p>“Well,” Benjen swallows the lump that forms in his throat, “that’s a lovely combination.”</p><p>“She’s probably the reason the Dragon is so aggressive.”</p><p>The vampire says nothing. The silence stretches on for a long minute, leaving both beings with their own thoughts.</p><p>“Are you sure the female is not the Dragon?”</p><p>“Yes.” There’s no doubt. “The Dragon scent is nothing like I’ve ever smelt before. Too faint to pick up details but enough to notice the differences between the female and the other scent. According to the witnesses, the Dragon came from the water, so the strong scent of sea water can be that. But it’s definitely nothing I’ve ever come across. Either of them.”</p><p>Benjen has nothing to say to that. There is nothing he can say to argue his points. </p><p>They don’t loiter around for long. If this was in fact the Dragon’s den, they did not want it to come back and find them there. Especially if it has a youngling to worry about. It would no doubt be extra aggressive and territorial. It would explain the attack on the two trespassers and why it followed them so far away from the den. </p><p>They both make the trek back to the boat on the beach and leave the island. Diego says nothing the entire time and Benjen can’t think of anything to talk about. Not in the face of what they have learned and how this will undoubtedly have consequences he cannot see or prevent. </p><p>He sighs, feeling the weight of responsibility for the storm coming their way. Benjen doesn’t know what compels him to look back but he does. He looks and his heart, impossibly slow beat compared to a human and Witcher already, stops because the scene before his eyes is a familiar one.  It is an island after dark and though the moon is not full, the light shines enough to leave a silhouette. The memory rushes through him, of another island and a girl, and Ben realizes <em> this </em> is that island. The one from Tony’s soul dreams.</p><p>This is where his nephew’s soulmate is fated to die.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Calm</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Pieces start to move...and a revelation is made. (Whether that revelation is true, well, guess we’ll find out).</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Vlad is stressed. </p><p>Never has he encountered a rumor where a soulmate might die. His family has struggled, has endured hardship and loss. But this is...it is something so profoundly <em> wrong </em>. Vlad doesn’t have the words to express why or how, only that it is. There is a swelling pit in the vampire kings’ chest, threatening to immobilize him, to freeze him into inaction with anxiety and nausea. He refuses to let it. Will not let this be the end of it. Will not surrender to the gnawing terror that eagerly seeks to consume him.  It is too similar to a time when his bloodline was pushed to the very brink, where his descendants were one more crisis away from complete extinction, and he pulled his family close. They can feel him, his presence within their minds, a whisper in the dark watching over them, keeping track of where they are.</p><p>It is not paranoia if they really are out to get you.</p><p>Vlad knows he is fortunate that his children do not hold it against him. The youngest, once they pick up on it, roll their eyes and tease good-naturedly. They do not understand but they have been raised in a time where being a vampire is not an immediate death sentence, so they are softer for it. Trusting. He will not fault them for it. Times change and people with it. Something in his old heart warms at their easy faith and trust in him. Vlad, in turn, does what he can to prove deserving of it. </p><p>He has not found a solution to Ned’s predicament but it is only a matter of time. The woman is mortal for all that she has gained some longevity from his son, it cannot last. He will not allow it to. The world is a softer place than it once was but for those like Vlad, who is not, it is at moments, almost too easy. Too simply. </p><p>This moment is not one of those. This is...dangerous. But they know how to prioritize. Benjen is sent to the Witcher in Australia and the rest of his eldest gather to make preparations. All they know about Tony’s soulmate is that she is blonde and blue eyed. Whether that is from the stones present in the vision or her natural color is to be determined. That only leaves the island, of which there are hundreds in the world. But if they can narrow down the possibilities, they can gain some control here. From there it is only a matter of branching out, seeing who has access to it and who do not. A process of elimination. </p><p>They also cannot allow the normal day to day duties to fall to the wayside. Lyanna helps run a country with her husband, one critical to the production of synthetic blood to feed the vampire species and keep tensions low. Greg must keep his eye on America and its greedy, power hungry spies. They anticipate an attempt on Howard and Tony soon enough, two of the only ‘inventors’ of the family to the public so far. Both people of incredible potential and royals of an innovative empire to rival a small country, which would be a boon to anyone who has their loyalty. Peter and Rickon are too young to be in the spotlight and Greg has done a truly splendid job controlling the American media to that effect. Brandon and Ned also have duties outside of the Romanian court, including maintaining diplomatic ties with various entities. Vlad is only one vampire, after all. Stretching himself thin is asking for disaster so delegating the responsibilities between his young is the best avenue for the Family. Soon, his oldest grandchildren will help alleviate the burdens.</p><p>Jon will help his father’s country maintain its neutrality and production alongside his other siblings, as well as showing the continued support of the Stark Family. Being the son of two Royal bloodlines comes with large responsibilities but with such large and close knit Families, he will not be doing all of the work alone. Robb will likewise join his father in his duties at court and abroad as an ambassador and Prince of Romania. He will continue to ensure Romania’s and their Family’s interest internationally. (Vlad failed his country once, he will not allow there to be a second). Meanwhile Cregan has shown an interest in following his Uncle Greg in keeping an eye on America. Which Vlad and Brandon are all too happy to encourage. </p><p>Which just leaves the youngest, too young to know just what they want just yet but full of potential nonetheless. </p><p>Sansa is already showing herself to be a budding artist. Fashion, paint, sculpture. Anything with color puts a sparkle in her eyes. It always brings a smile to his Mina’s face. It has been too long since their family has had an artist. That is not to say none of the children are as talented. No. Each is unique in their own ways. Arya with her gymnastics, Bran with his designs, Torrhen with his love of winter sports, and Daemon’s incessant need to master every instrument he can. Not to forget Blake’s obsession with fan martial arts fighting and Erik’s riding. </p><p>Just thinking about all of them, warms Vlad all over. Relaxing the ancient being further into his seat. Yes. They are all unique and a joy to watch grow and mature.</p><p>...it’s why they need to find that island. Otherwise, Tony may not be counted amongst them for very long.</p><p>With a plan in place, his eldest separated to make adjustments to their own plans and schedules, Vlad makes his call. The Stark family is in the middle of a crisis but that does not mean anyone else needs to know that. They cannot show weakness. There are too many enemies who will not hesitate to pounce on it. The office is left to him, a sign of their respect and deference he knows they give to no one else. He has contingencies of his own to make.</p><p>“Sir,” The woman on the video chat looks to be in her late twenties, beautiful and professional. Vanessa, not a vampire but a fierce woman to have as a liaison to the UN nonetheless. “There have been several developments.”</p><p>“Good?”</p><p>“Some.” Vanessa shuffles some papers on her desk, behind her Vlad sees shadows move, her guards patrolling. Not all of them are vampires, just a handful to deter any sort of espionage. “Not all of it is good. I have no doubt you’ve already seen the news about-”</p><p>“-I have.” Vlad’s tone is clipped, cutting her off more harshly than he intended. She does not take it personally, merely nods her head and moves on.</p><p>“The Americans are not having a good time right now.” </p><p>There is a little curl to her lips, not enough to prove a smirk or a smile. But the hint is all he needs to know she finds it amusing.  She debriefs him on what is occurring, swiftly and factually. She mentions biases and prejudices from other representatives, giving a brief assumption on certain agendas and so forth. </p><p>The American <em> mermaids </em> have filed a lawsuit. There are multiple pending criminal charges against the country. The lawyer representing them is British, known for being a vocal activist and skilled in international law. Another round of politics exists beneath the surface in this case. The President and Prime Minister are in precarious positions with the issue making its way to an international court. Pride is another factor as well. Those infernal creatures certainly do not make it easy, refusing to let go of the place they’ve decided to lay their roots. The situation requires watching. </p><p>Vlad will not endorse the creatures as a Legacy race, what the humans call ‘Old Blood’. He refuses to tarnish the memory of the only mermaid he’s met, of the one who brought him light when all around him there was darkness. If they wish to claim a ‘New Blood’ title, he will be more than happy to lend his support but no more than that.</p><p>The wolf pack in California is also filing a suit against the Argent hunting family in international court. The current Alpha being the only sane Hale left to rebuild and lead a wolf pack in that region. Hopefully, the economy and the environment will turn around and start flourishing again. Few people realize that wolves are like bees, necessary for certain locations to thrive in both magic and resources. Healthy predators means a healthy ecosystem. It would have been catastrophic if the California coast stayed without a wolf pack for much longer. The fires in that area are getting out of control as it is. Famine would have settled in next or a plague outbreak of some kind.  </p><p>Vlad cannot help but feel some relief in the situation taking a positive turn. The Hale wolf bloodline is the oldest in the country, surrounded by smaller and younger packs with weaker blood.  While he was not familiar with the previous Alpha, he had some business with the one before. The current Alpha’s grandfather, lovely man with a strange liking for antique clocks.  But, again, the Hale pack is one of the last pure werewolf bloodlines, strong enough in both mind and body to guard and endure the responsibilities inherent there.  </p><p>“Have someone send the Alpha formal copy of our treaty. A gentle reminder that he has allies and he need be not afraid to call upon them.”</p><p>“Of course, sir.” Vanessa shuffles some more papers before her. “I already had a team prepped, just had them on standby in case you wanted to add anything before I sent them out.”</p><p>“No. When he accepts the treaty, make sure it is emphasized that in doing so we formally acknowledge his place as the Alpha of the Hale Pack of America.”</p><p>“Understood.”</p><p>“If that is all.” He needs to call his court, the entirety of it, they need to prepare for another wave of changes. Politically, they are strong but he might cause some waves not unlike those made because of that Tully woman that put them at odds with various European factions. </p><p>“Actually, sir,” Vanessa deliberately frowns at him. A warning that what she will say next is not something he will like. “It’s about the sirens.”</p><p>“...what.”</p><p>“I wish I could make this quick but I can’t.” Another warning, one he understands but cannot appreciate. “They’re all confirmed dead and their deaths are giving fuel to the American merfolk case. I have other ambassadors asking for a statement. Something official.”</p><p>Vlad leans back into his seat, face expressionless. He knows what that means. International news was running constant segments on the sirens. The original concern was a poacher or hunter. Most trying to point to a Witcher gone rogue or taking justice into their own hands. But that was swiftly shut down when the initial report proclaimed the cause of death as an animal attack. Now it’s only a question of <em> what </em> managed to kill them. It will only be a matter of time until people pick up on talk of the Dragon and make the connection. </p><p>Geralt and Benjen need to be in place before that happens. </p><p>But in the meantime, people are curious and making moves. Or not making moves as it were. In the realm of international politics, however, even <em> not </em> making a move is the same as making one. Vlad, as a King and an international powerhouse on par with the other superpowers, has two choices. He can support the case being built by the American merfolk and their supporters or he can keep silent. Both have pros and cons to the situation. </p><p>Normally, he would make a more thorough decision after speaking with his entire court and having some idea of where certain consequences will leave them. He cannot do that here. For many reasons but most prominently, Vlad is more worried about his grandson than a bunch of mer that don’t know when to cut their losses and move on. </p><p>“Officially,” Vlad starts and thinks carefully, “We support the merfolk in their case against the Americans. However, our stance on their appeal for a Legacy title remains unchanged.”</p><p>“So the same as before.” Vanessa nods her head, not surprised and looking to the side her hand moving, making a note of some kind. “If they wish to have our support on gaining New Blood status, they will have it or they can continue their pursuit independently.”</p><p>“Keep an eye on the situation.” Is the last thing he cares to say about the whole thing. “Anything else to report?” </p><p>“No. Will you need anything else, sir?”</p><p>“I will let you know.” They end the call and no sooner had they done so, is his personal cell ringing. It’s Benjen. He wasn’t expecting to hear from him so soon but that means it can’t be good. “What’s wrong?”</p><p>“Witcher Diego is sure it’s an <em> actual </em> Dragon. Witcher Geralt has already confirmed he’s on his way.” Benjen does not spend time on pleasantries, usually he would answer with some sarcastic response before getting to the point. That he does not is telling to the older vampire. “It did run off a couple of teenage mages but didn’t hunt them down. There’s a high probability it has something to do with the ritual offering. It’s exactly like you described.”</p><p>“That does not explain the siren kills. Not that I’m disagreeing. The vermin need a good culling. But why sirens and not mages? So far as I know the last Dragon here had done so long before the sirens were known to exist.” That wasn’t even counting their flying cousins which were hunted to extinction by mages and other magic users. Again, not that they were a huge loss. </p><p>“We have a running theory, it might be something new.”</p><p>“Explain.”</p><p>“We don’t have any proof. Just ideas and suspicions.” Benjen takes a deep, if unnecessary, breath. “The Dragon has a youngling. Female, according to Witcher Diego, but if that youngling was attacked like before…”</p><p>Like the First Dragon. A youngling attacked, kidnapped and returned damaged before being taken by Death. Perhaps this one was aware of what happened and took measures to prevent the same mistakes? </p><p>“Then the Dragon will hunt down the ones responsible. The sirens I’m assuming but it won’t stop until it completes the ritual. When I arrive, I’ll sit with you and we’ll prepare a statement for the siren hybrids.”</p><p>There is no doubt, the sirens will soon be no more. Dragons do not do work half way and then stop. Vlad will not miss them and there are plenty of others who feel the same but it does not hurt to be prepared anyway. Geralt will have something in mind as well and if not, it will be simple to encompass him and the other Witchers in their statement.  </p><p>“That’s fine but there’s something else. Tony needs to be here. <em> Now </em>.” Benjen emphasizes. “I found the island.”</p><p>“What.”</p><p>Vlad Tepes, Dracula, King of Vampires, does not yell or shout at his children. Not unless their actions could have or did lead to someone’s death or something crueler. Rickard is the only one to have such an experience for his foolishness. But the fact remains, he does not raise his voice. Vlad gets very, <em> very </em> quiet.</p><p>“It’s <em> here </em>. It’s Mako Island. No cell reception and overflowing with magic.” Benjen loses his composure, voice cracking over the phone. “But this is it. I’m-I’ve sent you pictures to your email.”</p><p>Vlad turns to his computer, already on and checks his notifications. There are several but only one from Benjen, only one with attachments. He opens them, his dead heart beating in his chest. Hope dares to bloom. The pictures encompass his entire screen. It is beautiful and dark, almost impossible to see. But the moon gave it light, shone upon trees and a large volcano, onto the gleaming water around it all. It is familiar. It is an image known to him, a memory crystal clear in his mind. Hope spreads its wings and <em> soars </em>.</p><p>“Benjen…” His voice trails off, the joy and disbelief silencing him. Slowly, it gives way to a sharp relief. </p><p>“Granddad.” Benjen’s voice cracks further, like it is an effort to talk and force words through his lips. </p><p>Vlad knows. He understands, can grasp what this means better than anyone. This will not be a marathon struggle like with Ned. There will be no battle in court for custody over children, or a cursed contract that traps one of his own. The expectation of impending tragedy has lost its power. Death will <em> not </em> have Tony. </p><p>For a wild moment, outside of time, Vlad can see it all. Every scene of the past, those choices which had led to this, and the future, so unknown and outside of his reach. But it glowed with a light full of hope and strength. They can overcome this. This battle will not be stolen from them. The illusion shatters, reality returns, and the present reasserts itself. Vlad takes control.</p><p>“I will already need to be there. What have you done?” If Benjen already made connections with the locals, that would be a good start. The best way to gather information from a new location is to integrate with the locals. </p><p>“I already bought a <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3186796/Whitsundays-mansion-private-marina-helipad-ocean-dining-pavillion-goes-market-undisclosed-sum.html%20">house</a>. It’s a bit removed but it has everything we’d need. Torrhen won’t be joining us since he has his own place in Russia. He will need to go back to keep suspicions at bay, so that leaves Blake here with Tony and Peter. Two more rooms are free.”</p><p>“No.” Vlad is already running through plans and plans. “The youngest will be moved back to Mina in Romania. That is the original plan and we will stay with that.” </p><p>The three youngest could spend some time with Vlad’s mate and she with them and each other. It is not Vlad’s castle fortress but the <a href="https://www.luxuryestate.com/p99351625-luxury-home-for-sale-bucharest">home</a> he had made outside of his ‘Impaler’ image is for family and having it filled with the younglings is a good thing. Peter, Rickon, and Deyana, also need this time reconnecting with their homeland. As well as spending more time with each other. After these many centuries, Vlad has learned that his family is strongest when its foundations are just as strong. The proof is in the bonds shared with the younglings already, between Ned and his siblings, between Tony and his cousins. Peter, Rickon, and Deyana will no doubt follow in their steps but he will not risk their safety while those bonds grow.</p><p>“Daemon, Arya and Bran will also return and be watched over by Brandon. Greg will remain in America with Cregan and Robb.” Vlad continues to lay out the plan they had originally settled on. “Jon will return with Lyanna and if Torrhen is going back to Russia alone, he will take extra security. No exceptions.”</p><p>“I’ll make sure he knows.” Benjen promises. “I already have Chad assembling a security detail and I’ve given a soft alert to our embassy in Moscow.”</p><p>“Good.” Vlad is pleased, that is one less task he needs to do. “Speaking of diplomacy, Ned will go with me. He has a softer hand when it comes to humans and the media. Sansa and Erik will also come with us. Tony can use their support, especially for his own search. They will stay with you. I will purchase another house. One...suitably loud.”</p><p>He hears Benjen chuckle over the phone. No doubt already aware of some of the older vampire’s intentions. Vlad will draw attention to himself while Tony and his cousins have as much freedom to go about their own business. Including finding Tony’s mate. She has to be near, either as a local or a tourist, and that means they have a chance.</p><p>“In that case, there’s one place that’s recently gone for sale.” There is the distant almost quiet tapping of Ben’s fingers before another notification appears on his computer. A <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/news/gold-coasts-biggest-mansion-hits-market-with-45-million-price-tag/">house</a> that fits the criteria for what Vlad plans to enact once he arrives. “Thought about getting it for all of us but changed my mind when I saw it’s location.”</p><p>“Yes, lovely to look at. Terrible position to defend.” Still, it was workable. “But something we can use.”</p><p>“I’ll get the house ready for Tony and the others. The school year has already started here but it's still early enough for me to get them enrolled.”</p><p>“Make sure to get them in as many classes together as possible.” The last thing they need is for Tony to be separated and left to his own devices right now. Until he finds his mate, Tony is vulnerable.</p><p>“Of course.” Benjen’s fingers are tapping away. “Everything should be ready by the end of the week.”</p><p>“Longer than I would like,” Vlad frowns, “but it’s better than nothing. I’ll make sure the children know to prepare.”</p><p>Vlad starts to make his own preparations, sending emails to the appropriate departments. Security, diplomats, IT, etc. All the moving parts required to run an impromptu embassy. They already have one in Sydney that’s true but that is too far away from the island. With the impending arrival of so many different government agencies, and there will be once the media gets a hold of official documents on the Dragon, having a solid base of operations will be critical.  </p><p>“Expect additional security forces in the morning.”</p><p>“That won’t be showing our hand so soon?”</p><p>“It won’t matter once word gets out that Geralt is going to pay a visit.”</p><p>“Right.” Benjen sounds almost pained at the reminder and Vlad huffs at his grandson, amused.</p><p>“That will be a situation you won’t have to worry about.” </p><p>Benjen mumbles a near silent ‘thank Gaia’ and Vlad chuckles, relaxing in his seat to a near slouch. The air feeling lighter and less tense has certainly made a difference.  The two finalize their plans for their stay in Australia before they say their farewells and end the call.</p><p>Vlad takes a moment to thank the Dragon for its intervention. For its fury. Without it, things would have remained bleak looking and hopeless. Now there is cause for action and celebration. There is a call for action and by the power flowing through his veins, Vlad will answer it.</p><hr/><p>Rikki <a href="https://dailymerfolk.tumblr.com/post/160246312891">swam</a> with a goal in mind. The money from the fossil is good, more than enough to cover them for any bills but having something to focus on is helpful right now. It takes her mind off what’s happening back on land.  Right now, looking for lunar meteorites far away from Mako helps her put some distance and perspective into her life. </p><p>The blonde mermaid sticks close to the ground. She knows there was a small cluster of meteorites around here in the old world. It might have moved because of the ocean currents or it might not have existed at all. Hard to tell. But the search takes her mind off of-</p><p>-it’s good to have something to focus on. Something solid and concrete.</p><p>Treasure hunting is not an easy job. It can be grueling, forcing hunters to travel into the dark and the cold depths of the sea. It can be terribly lonely..</p><p>Everything has been changing so quickly, ever since the full moon. She’s learned a lot. Her dreams have grown even stranger and after a brief visit to the moon pool she’s got a good idea of why. The Dragon was there, lounging on the rock, like it had been waiting for her. Expecting her.</p><p>She dreamed again, right there. Falling asleep in the moon pool without meaning to. But Rikki got the message or she’s reasonably sure she’s got it. The dreams are from Mako. They were clearer than when she dreamed on her own. Parts are still missing, fragments she just cannot recall. But she knows things now. Things that Mako is trying to tell her.</p><p>History.</p><p>Mermaid history. And it’s nothing at all like Cleo and Bella had guessed. Those bodies on the beach were sirens. Abominations. Centuries ago, witches attacked a gathering of mermaids, pregnant and near land, ready to give birth, just so they could leech their magic and were cursed for their actions.  The magic tore through them, changed them from the inside out, and dragged them out to sea. Those same women who thought they could take what wasn’t theirs without consequences, were made slaves to the magic they committed inhumane atrocities to get their dirty hands on. No one expected them to be able to thrive while the mermaids died out.</p><p>The others, the ones who managed to escape, became feral in another way. They cut themselves off from the magic of the world, from Mako and the other moon pools. All in a bid to protect themselves from witches and those who would follow their example. They turned into feral mermaids, broken beings of water but who evolved to survive being cut off from the power that made them true mermaids. From that which gave them life...</p><p>Rikki doesn’t need to dream of them to know that the ferals are the American mermaids. Like a disease they spread widely as more and more mermaids tore themselves apart in a desperate bid to save themselves from being hunted down. To save themselves from being erased completely.</p><p>Her hand brushes against something hard. Rikki snaps out of her daze, looking around and noticing how much darker it has become. It's hard to tell how long she’s been here without a waterproof watch and the lack of light only tells her that she's deeper than light can reach.</p><p>She turns around, her hands running along the sandy bottom. There are a few dark lumps and she reaches out to inspect them, running her fingers over them. It’s too dark to tell if they’re what she’s looking for but still light enough that her eyes don’t adapt to the lack of light. Seeing in the dark is something she only found out during a deep dive when her torch died. Rikki has no idea if it’s something all mermaids have or something she gained from one of the full moons but no one will hear her complain.</p><p>There is a scattering of these same rocks, each fitting in the palm of her hands. She puts them in the bag she brought with her.</p><p>If these are lunar meteorites, Rikki will have gotten another several thousand dollars from the right buyer. She gathers them all and begins to swim for the surface. Little by little, light from above starts to surface and spread out. From below, from Rikki’s sight, it’s like watching a flower open into full bloom. It’s as mesmerizing now as it was all those years ago. It still takes her breath away.</p><p>She stops just before breaching the surface. A familiar rumble reaching her ears, the sound of a motor on a boat. Rikki twists in place and turns in the direction of the sound, underwater she can feel which way that is. Like an annoying fly buzzing just out of reach but you know it’s there. She sees it after a moment, moving parallel to where she is and not at all quickly. Rikki waits for a moment and then quickly dives for deeper water. She floats there, eyes on the boat as it moves along but she can’t shake the uneasy feeling that fills her the longer she looks at it. </p><p>The water police were all over Mako, she’s seen the boats patrolling and forming a perimeter. It makes her tense every time she comes to the moon pool. But this boat, this one moves like them but it's too far from the others. Unless it's not one of them?</p><p>Rikki waits a little before swimming back to the surface and breaching the water to see if she can catch any details about it. </p><p>“Not the water police.” She mumbles, eyeing the matte black paint of the bow rider boat. </p><p>There were three men moving about, one had her attention. He was covered in black leather and two swords on his back. He was throwing something over the back while the other two moved between the leather guy and the bow of the boat. She would need to get closer to hear what they’re saying but Rikki wanted to know what Mr Swords was throwing in the water.</p><p>She dives again and glides closer to the boat, waiting for the next drop. Rikki floats beneath the boat and as it passes over her, a shiver runs down her spine. Something like ice passed down her back and she blinked, trying to shake the sensation away. The blonde looks back and sees what looks like a seashell drop into the water. As the men move away, Rikki plucks the strange shell and runs her fingers over it. </p><p>It wasn’t plastic but it also wasn’t like other shells. She pulls it closer to her face, wondering if it was some kind of art piece except...the longer she holds it, the greater the creepy feeling of being watched grew.</p><p>The boat stops.</p><p>Rikki turns back at the boat that’s only a boat length away from her. She throws the shell away and torpedoes away. </p><p>At home, she goes through her haul and finds four meteorites. She distracts herself by thinking about where to find a buyer and how much she could get for them. But she couldn’t get the shells out of her head or that guy with the swords. </p><p>What were they doing? And what were those shells for?</p><hr/><p>They knew the creatures would come. </p><p>The power of a True Daughter of the Sea is impossible to resist. Like a lure, the Sirens came, hungry and full of lust. Hoping for a taste of that which is forever out of reach.</p><p>She could not be seen by them. Not when she is still so vulnerable, so young and soft. They made sure she was safe and warm, invisible to the hunters in the water and on land. Not yet. Not yet. Not Yet.</p><p><em> N </em> <b>o</b> T y <em> E </em> <b>t</b>!</p><p>All will be well. They have waited so long for this. They have the patience for a while longer. This is important. Too important to rush and risk squandering all they have endured. </p><p>Blood fills the water, the air, and They rejoice in the enemy’s suffering. The plague that is their existence will end and balance will return to the oceans. For a time.</p><p>There is still important work to be done. They have fangs now, claws and power and armor. No one else has done this for Them before and this is an opportunity They will not let go of. Time has been Their ally and it has not failed Them yet.</p><hr/><p>“Still nothing?” Cleo asks from her seat.</p><p>Emma doesn’t bother looking up from her binder, her pen flowing easily as she finishes writing her essay for class. All of them are sitting in Emma’s backyard, notebooks and textbooks sprawled out in the setting sunlight. Cleo, Lewis, Will, Bella and Emma had been doing homework before the inevitable question was asked.  </p><p>It is no secret that Bella is a banshee, a being who announces impending death. Along with that status comes a large amount of harassment. People who want things from Bella that she can’t give or that she feels uncomfortable doing. It’s why she’s under the protection of Emma’s father, a vampire sheriff. This doesn’t make Emma or her brother royalty or anything but it does give the Gilbert family a lot of clout.  More than enough for Emma to feel comfortable pursuing her mate, Ash. (Not to say she wouldn’t have felt confident without it! But still, she was not turning down a confidence boost). </p><p>Cleo just reached her majority and matured into an Alpha werewolf, which gives Bella additional protection. Since females are known to be more territorial to pack members and no court will penalize Cleo for defending Bella from someone she saw as a threat to her life. Which leaves Lewis and Will, the only humans in their small inner pack, but no less important. </p><p>It’s been several days since Bella had a sense of impending death from one of the students at school.  (Not every death is overwhelming enough to cause a banshee scream but still alarming). Unfortunately, the student Bella got her reading from is Rikki Chadwick, a notorious loner. Bella has tried to reach out and been ignored. Cleo tried to follow her and lost her trail at the beach. It’s like every attempt to find her, corner her and get answers from the blonde human are being thwarted. </p><p>“Nothing.” Bella sighs, her writing coming to a stop. “I don’t understand. Everyone else wants to hear what I have to say. Except Rikki. That’s weird, right?”</p><p>“Maybe she thinks she can figure it out on her own.” Lewis offers his own opinion but his tone isn’t a question. Emma looks up from her work to frown at him.</p><p>“That ridiculous. Why would she try to do that?” Lewis blinks at her, as if noticing that he has everyone’s attention.</p><p>“You’re serious?” </p><p>“Lewis.”</p><p>“You don’t know?”</p><p>“Lewis, I wouldn’t ask if I knew.”</p><p>“She’s a loner.” Lewis starts, “She’s been a loner ever since she started at school and all of a sudden everyone knows her name.”</p><p>“It’s not everyone.” Cleo says slowly, not sure where her mate is going with this.</p><p>“It is. Look. You guys started asking questions when Bella noticed her and now, <em> everyone </em> is asking questions about Rikki. People I don’t know are asking about her and that’s not including the teachers.”</p><p>“He’s right.” Will agrees with a frown that makes him look older. “No one really cared who she was until we started asking around about her. She’s probably not too happy about that.”</p><p>“So, she resents us for trying to help her?” Emma tries to hide her disgust but her expression gives her away.</p><p>“More like, she has no reason to trust anything we have to say.” Lewis corrects, “One day she’s going about her day like normal and the next, she’s being followed home by a bunch of strangers.”</p><p>“Oh.” Cleo’s eyes widen in understanding and Emma gets it. “That explains so much.”</p><p>“That doesn’t tell me how to get her to listen.” Bella glares down at the table. “I <em> need </em> to talk to her. Somehow.”</p><p>“Bella?” Will’s concern is echoed by all of them. None of them have seen her get this serious, this intuned with her inner banshee.</p><p>“Every day, it’s like-like something is growing. There’s this creeping feeling behind her that I can’t see. A wave of something so dark, so hungry and I don’t understand why it hasn’t crushed us all into the dirt.”</p><p>“What about Rikki?”</p><p>“I thought she didn’t notice. Why would she?” Bella stops talking, struggling to put things into words that make sense. “But then, the other day, when I saw her at the beach…”</p><p>“...with the sirens?” Emma asks, to clarify. It was hard to push that day out of mind. There was something intimidating and sick about seeing so many of them dead. “I didn’t realize Rikki was there.”</p><p>“She was,” Bella lightly bit her lower lip, “I could <em> feel </em> her like a great big lighthouse and I realized she did know. She’s always known about it and I think-I think she knows what it <em> is </em>, what it wants.”</p><p>The silence after is heavy. Stiff. No one knows what to say.</p><p>“This whole time I’ve thought I knew everything. But I don’t.” Bella laughs warily. “How could I have been so stupid?”</p><p>“Bella,” Will reaches for her, the only one who can. “You’re not-“</p><p>“-I am. Because ever since that day on the beach, I understand better. Rikki isn’t hiding from me just because of who I am, it’s because I <em> know </em> . I know she’s not running away from that <em> thing </em> , okay? She’s going <em> toward </em> whatever is going to kill her and she doesn’t want me to stop her.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. One Step Forward, Five Steps Back</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Rikki is cornered but not caught.</p>
<p>Everyone learns something.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Well, here we go! Not too sure about this chapter but it demanded attention. I hope you like it!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <strong>“She’s a Mermaid, But approach her with Caution. Her mind swims at a Depth most would Drown in.”</strong>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <strong>J Iron Word</strong>
  </em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>It bothers her. Those men and the shells. How they stopped when she grabbed it, as if they knew she was there. Just the idea of how close they were to her, that all they had to do was jump in the water and they’d have seen her…</p>
<p>Rikki tossed and turned all night. The anxiety ate away at her stomach and nerves. She skips school and goes to have her meteorites appraised. It’s busy work. Forces the mermaid to focus on the present, to talk business instead of letting her mind wonder.</p>
<p>The lunar meteorites are appraised and she’d referred to a buyer, with an estimate of around 26 thousand dollars for her entire find. It’s a huge haul, especially for a ‘fresh face teen diver’ to discover and it’s definitely a lot more than she got for it before. She stays busy. Focused.</p>
<p>Sundown comes faster than she thought it would. The day was spent. Her business is done. It had gone terribly smoothly. Rikki expected more haggling, negotiating, or stonewalling since she’s still in high school. But everything has gone perfectly and it unnerves her. Makes her wonder if she’s trying too hard to make the world fit around her or expecting too much from herself too fast.</p>
<p>She sits on the beach at their private little spot, Lewis’ ‘secret fishing spot’, and stares as the waves come crashing to shore. Watching the water, reminds her of swimming with the girls and that first dive on the reef. All of it was magical, even the moments that were terrifying.</p>
<p>“Hey.” </p>
<p>Rikki jerks to the side, coming back to the present, to see a somewhat familiar face. The man with the two swords from the boat. He has sharp gold eyes, dark hair and facial hair. She’s never seen anyone like him before.</p>
<p>“Sorry to startle ya’. Didn’t expect to find anyone out here.”</p>
<p>“Why not?” Is he here for her? No. If he was, he wouldn’t come at her where she could easily get away. Rikki had the advantage here, not him.</p>
<p>“Lots of rumors going around about a monster in the water.”</p>
<p>“Plenty of monsters on land too.”</p>
<p>“Well, you’re not wrong but this monster has killed others. It’s killed a lot.” He tilts his head to the side like a bird or a cat. “Makes people nervous to get in the water with it still out there.”</p>
<p>“Plenty of monsters on land, too.” Rikki repeats. “And I don’t see you asking about them.”</p>
<p>The man chuckles but doesn’t argue against her comment. “Well, this one’s a bit of a special case and since you haven’t run away screaming from me or dropped into a stuttering mess, maybe you can help me.”</p>
<p>“Help you?” She raises an eyebrow at him. What was this guy playing at?</p>
<p>“Why not?” He shoots back with a smirk on his face. Like he knows some big secret.</p>
<p>“How could I possibly help you?”</p>
<p>“Have you seen anything weird lately?”</p>
<p>“I’m looking at one now.”</p>
<p>She obviously catches off guard, with the way his eyes widen and his jaw drops, but then he’s laughing, loud guwaffs replacing the quiet tension filled air. It takes him a few minutes to get himself together.</p>
<p>“Okay.” He inhales sharply, a few tears are easily wiped away. “Okay. I admit, I deserve that. Been a while since anyone’s called me out on my shit but I <em> am </em> serious about your help.”</p>
<p>“By telling you if I see anything weird?” Rikki rolls her eyes. “Newsflash, everyone is weird here.”</p>
<p>“So what’s weirder than normal?”</p>
<p>“My classmates fit that bill.” She deflects. “One day I’m minding my own business and the next everyone is trying to talk to me. I doubt that’s important to your monster hunt, though.”</p>
<p>“No. It’s not.” He shakes his head, face back to neutral. “Sorry about that, though. Sounds like they might be worried about you.”</p>
<p>“They didn’t even know my name until recently. They’re all just nosy little gossips.”</p>
<p>“Thought all teenagers were nosy gossips.”</p>
<p>Rikki carefully exhales through her nose. <em> Dammit</em>. He’s not wrong. She <em> is </em> a teenager right now. But also, she isn’t and the longer she’s here like this, the more that becomes true. It’s like she’s trying to balance on a tightrope between what Rikki used to be and what she is now, with no way to make them mesh. </p>
<p>“I’m not most teenagers.” The words taste like wet sand.</p>
<p>“I figured.” He sits down on the sand across from her, leans to the side and stretches his long body, lounging on the sand, keeping his eyes locked with hers. “Not many teenagers would sit on the beach alone. Even less would sit alone with a <em> Witcher</em>.”</p>
<p>Double fuck.</p>
<p>He’s expecting a response, a reaction. He’s expecting her to <em> know </em> what that means and it makes her want to push his face in the sand. Rikki has no clue what’s the ‘normal’ response but it’s really fucking clear that relying on the notion that ‘there’s no way everyone can know everything’ was complete horseshit.</p>
<p>“Funny.” She stretches out her legs, kicking up a little sand on the Witcher’s clo-<em> armor </em> (of course its armor, of fucking course!). “I was going to say the same thing about you.”</p>
<p>His gaze is intense, glowing in the fading sunlight but Rikki is not going to bend before this guy. She stares right back, daring him to challenge her. </p>
<p>“I’m a Witcher. We’re all about not being like everyone else.” Rikki refuses to take the bait and keeps quiet. His eyes regard her with something like curiosity. “But that doesn’t mean we know everything when we go on a hunt.”</p>
<p>“And why you decided to come here to bother me,” She says carefully. “Because you think I can help you with your hunt.”</p>
<p>“People who aren’t sheep tend to leave the crowd behind,” Diego makes himself even more comfortable, like he intends to stay there. “Lone wolves, like yourself, see more than they say they do. Makes sense to see what you know.”</p>
<p>“You <em>still</em> think I saw something?”</p>
<p>“I know you did.” She stares. “You wouldn’t be trying to get me to leave otherwise.”</p>
<p>“Maybe I just don’t trust every random stranger who walks up to me.”</p>
<p>“Maybe. But you haven’t been afraid of me since I showed up. Annoyed, curious, and a bit pissed off but not a whiff of fear from you. That’s impressive.”</p>
<p>The way he says that though, like it’s something rare and not at all the norm. But what strikes her is that the tone he used implies he has some way of knowing that without her doing a thing. </p>
<p>“Hmm, wary, cautious,” He smirks, “still not scared. Oh, a little angry there and if you could kill me with your eyes I think I’d be dead a dozen times over, right now.”</p>
<p>“I think two dozen makes more sense.”</p>
<p>“It does.” He agrees with a smile, like he gets threats like that every day. “Easier to carry my parts and cover up your tracks.”</p>
<p>“We’re at the beach. I’d let the sharks have you.”</p>
<p>“Original. I like it. Although we’ve gotten off topic.”</p>
<p>“Did we? I thought you were just here to <em> annoy </em> me.” She emphasizes because if she cannot figure out how to hide how she’s feeling from him then she was going to try to use that against him. </p>
<p>“What do you know about Mako?”</p>
<p>Rikki feels the air in her lungs freeze and suddenly those gold eyes feel so much heavier. But she grits her teeth and refuses to look away. Her next exhale is shakier than she would like, especially in front of this guy. He can read her, somehow and that tells her she really needs to get him off her back.</p>
<p>“What makes you think I know anything about Mako?”</p>
<p>“Stalling and fishing, huh?” He tilts his head again. “Okay. I’ll play. See, there was an incident at Mako a few weeks back but that’s not so important right now. What <em> is </em> important is that a little while after <em> that </em> incident, we had sirens washed up on the beach and I followed a hunch that they were both connected.”</p>
<p>Rikki doesn’t move and keeps her mouth shut. He’s told her nothing. She won’t jump to assumptions about what he knows. </p>
<p>“So, I had a few friends called in, they’ll be here soon but in the meantime, they sent for a few things to help keep an eye on Mako. The water police were helpful after they were convinced the results would cause no harm to anything or anyone. So, imagine my surprise when I get a hit when setting up the perimeter.”</p>
<p>The air turns cold. Literally. The sun has set and even though it’s still light out, it’s noticeably colder now. The Witcher’s breath can be seen clearer with every exhale. Her silence is drawn out and loud.</p>
<p>“Except the reading was corrupted, <em> somehow</em>, and then we get another reading.” He continues. “This one is faster. Stronger. Smashing right through our lines and heading for the coast. To help keep track of it all, my friends gave me a very special stone that tethers it all to me.”</p>
<p>That still tells her nothing except that he has some kind of tracker on him and it led him to Rikki. Even more, those shells are not regular shells and a part of whatever perimeter he has set up around Mako. Is it a one time thing? Can he track her every time she goes through to get to Mako?</p>
<p>“So, tell me. Why does my tether lead me to you?”</p>
<hr/>
<p>Steve Rogers knows there are a lot of people who look down on him. He knows it’s because of the serum and the process that turned him into Captain America. If he were a little more closed minded, he’d even agree with them. It’s strange but not, having two parts of himself at odds inside of him. It happens at the strangest of times but like all things the oddness  faded away, too. He doesn’t really see any differences between him and other werecreatures, so he’s learned the problem is with them, with them unwilling to outgrow their own narrow mindsets.</p>
<p>He would have thought with all the progress this so called future has made, this would have changed too. </p>
<p>But like with everything else Steve is learning about, nothing is perfect. SHIELD is interesting and someplace he feels like belongs, a little bit. He misses Bucky, his second. If he were here then the strangeness of everything wouldn’t bother him so much.</p>
<p>SHIELD is not so bad. They let him build his own pack just like with the Howling Commandos. It’s small but it has a lot of potential. It would be better if he had Howard with him but it was hard to get hold of him and rescuing him from the Vampire King requires a stronger pack. </p>
<p>It grates on him but he understands that taking on Dracula is not to be taken lightly. </p>
<p>Still, that reminds Steve of the headache that came with waking up to a new century. There’s so much going on. So many changes that it all makes his head spin. Steve learns a lot more about the supernatural world than he ever learned from his little corner of Brooklyn and he knows it’s because no one expected him to live long to adulthood.</p>
<p>Look at him now.</p>
<p>SHIELD tries to keep order but Witchers are given more jurisdiction because they’re an older organization. Steve doesn’t trust them or how close their ‘King’ is to Dracula. Which leaves Fury’s teams to come in after to find out what really went on and not the kid friendly version prepped for the media. This makes removing dangerous people very dangerous and sometimes SHIELD can’t do that without getting into a fight. Steve would have been disappointed in the agents for backing down until he sees a video of how one of the Witchers fights and understands. To even stand to go a round, the agents would need to be enhanced like Steve and most of them are not.</p>
<p>Howard would have been a huge help against them.</p>
<p>Steve misses him almost as much as he misses Bucky. The genius was a real patriot. He would never have accepted the subpar gear that Steve and his pack has to put up with. Romanoff and Barton don’t complain of course but he notices their wistful gazes whenever he brings up working with the genius. </p>
<p>It makes his loss more painful, especially since Howard isn’t <em> gone </em> like Bucky is. But getting him back is tricky. Vampires are not easy prey, at least, not the really strong ones. The civvies can be put down if you catch them off guard but the fighters? Those can be dangerous to people not like Steve. It explains why SHIELD gives him so much privilege, they trust him to know what’s best for his pack. They know his experience can lead them to victory.</p>
<p>Still, hearing the whole story about what happened with Howard leaves a sour taste in his mouth. The overreaction has caused so many issues and it would all be resolved if Dracula and his court had stayed out of it. It’s unacceptable for the vampires to take away the only friend Steve knows is still alive in this time. If they hadn’t pushed, Howard would be at his side, part of his pack and making sure thier gear is top line. The vampire might have gotten stressed from working so much but a few days off were all he needed. Howard’s family took it all out of proportion and now everything is a mess.</p>
<p>Steve’s read the report on them. On all of them. </p>
<p>Gregory is a devil in a suit. But Tony, Howard’s boy, could be a big help if Steve could convince him to join with SHIELD and his own pack, the Avengers. Fury tells him that any kind of recruitment needs to be careful since everyone is watching the new Stark heir. </p>
<p>Steve had been confused since there are so many of them. How could Tony be heir?</p>
<p>The fact is that there are multiple branches, territories and holdings under the Stark name. Robb Stark will claim Romania, with Bran and Rickon behind him, taking up their own territories when they come of age. Their parents already have holdings or positions in government that mean they are disqualified from being ‘heir’.</p>
<p>Vlad is still considered King of Vampires, Robb will be King of Romania, and Gregory Stark is CEO/King of Stark Industries. Howard was removed from the line of succession due to the incident with America, although he is still considered a Prince of Romania. </p>
<p>Prince Brandon Sr, Prince Benjen, Prince Ned, and their mother Princess Lyarra are acting Vice Presidents of Romania. Prince Richard was also removed from the line of succession following the incident with his son and is the Director of the Department of Agriculture.</p>
<p>Princess Lyanna, having married into the Targaryen royal family, no longer had any official position in Romania besides acting as a diplomat to Valyria. But Steve still thought she wasn’t to be ignored. She married into a family that makes the artificial blood for vampires and who have a lot of power on the international scale.</p>
<p>Prince Cregan is the oldest of the Stark children and is currently learning from Gregory Stark about all sorts of things. The report says economics, international law and business but Steve doesn’t buy that for a second. It’s been made abundantly clear that Gregory Stark is one of the most dangerous vampires to exist and needs to be locked up...or put down.</p>
<p>He still doesn’t understand why no one made a move against the vampire but there are only so many things Steve can focus on so he shelves that idea for now. The children aren’t so high profile but Steve knows SHIELD wouldn’t have a dossier on them if they weren’t some kind of threat. </p>
<p>The biggest has to be Prince Jon, who is third in line of the Targaryen throne. A Prince of two royal bloodlines and with a lot of power once he’s considered old enough to hold office. He is also a hybrid. A vampire who can use fire magic to a powerful degree. He also has a ‘large following on Twitter’, whatever that means, for being an artist. There are pictures of the prince in jeans and a shirt with paint brushes everywhere and a large wall like canvas in front of him. It makes Steve nostalgic for his own sketches and doodles from the war. But it also makes him feel disquieted. As someone who has drawn before, he knows looks can be deceiving and that there is no doubt a lot more behind this prince than anyone really knows.</p>
<p>Princess Sansa has her own fashion line and jewelry brand but what her influence is in government is still unknown. Princess Blake models for her cousin’s fashion line and has her own perfume line, too. However, in the file there is a picture of the princess holding a sword standing next to Dracula as he corrects her stance, which bumps her up on his mental threat list as well. Princes Torrhen, Daemon, Erik and Princess Arya are all into some kind of sport. The girl with her flashy moves, Torrhen with snow sports, Daemon with his motorcycle and Erik with horses. Steve didn’t even know there were so many types of sports but seeing some of the vampire children perform them is interesting. It makes the blond hybrid think about the things he couldn’t do before the serum and all that he can do now. </p>
<p>But it also brings to mind how quick people seem to love these vampires. Maybe that’s the angle these vamps are going for? </p>
<p>Princes Bran, Peter, Rickon and Princess Dyanna, are the youngest and kept as far from the public as possible. The security of the youngest vampire children is inhumanly high. Which is to be expected since they’re the most vulnerable but there is talk about one or two of them making a video game, which can hint at someone interested in computers. Their profiles are bare, making it hard to place them on his list and chances are he won’t learn more until they grow a bit more and Dracula let’s them into the public eye.</p>
<p>Which leaves Tony. </p>
<p>Howard’s boy. The only vampire he’s encouraged to try to recruit and the only one he’d feel comfortable with anyway. </p>
<p>There is plenty to say about Tony in his profile. Tony Stark is the heir to Stark Industries, a technological conglomerate that sprawls half the world and is leading in cutting edge technology. Rumor has it Tony designs and builds over half of the company’s current products. There isn’t any information on when he’s set to take over, if he ever does, but he’s already being called the DaVinci of the time.</p>
<p>Chances are that Howard won’t be released from Romanian custody but Tony is young and free from any bad press about SHIELD. The circumstances of the misunderstanding between Howard and SHIELD kept on need to know basis only. Steve understands that Dracula made a huge media circus about it, though kept the sensitive details out of the press. The blonde hybrid was glad to see the other being knew when to lay certain things to rest for the sake of others, at least.</p>
<p>Which means the only things Tony would have heard are the biased opinions of his family. Nothing Steve couldn’t work around by showing his side of things. A fresh set of eyes on their gear would be a huge boon for Steve’s growing pack and for all patriots, of course. Steve just has to be careful how to word his recruitment and be careful when he does it too.</p>
<p>He can’t seem like he’s stalking the kid, that would definitely send the wrong sort of message and Steve can’t seem like he’s anti-vampire.  He’s not but his experiences do not paint them in a positive light. The war was hard on everyone, he understands, but even allied vampires gave him a hard time.</p>
<p>...maybe that’s an angle he can use? They’re both hybrids, like most of the vampire children. Hybrids with humans and various mage parents, sure, but hybrid nonetheless. </p>
<p>“Rogers.”</p>
<p>The blond turns from his seat in the gym. Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD, stands at the doorway. Steve heard him come in but waited for him to call as a courtesy. Some people don’t offer that anymore, which the blonde thinks is rude.</p>
<p>“Fury.” He closes Tony’s file and stands. “Is there a mission?”</p>
<p>“That an interesting read?” </p>
<p>Steve frowns at the human. That was one thing he did not miss about his time in the service. The roundabout questions instead of asking things straight. </p>
<p>“I hope you wouldn’t give me something to read and expect me not to actually read it. Besides, it’s about Howard’s boy.”</p>
<p>“Rhetorical question Rogers.” Fury steps into the blonde’s personal space, something humans normally will never do and without a hint of fear or anxiety, and holds out another folder, thinner than the one in his hand. “Your mission includes an opportunity to recruit him, if you can.”</p>
<p>“What’s this?” Steve ignores the comment about Tony. He can recruit the kid, now that he has a sort of plan in place. “They’re moving to Australia?!”</p>
<p>“Rumor in intelligence is that a Dragon has nested on an island off the coast. Two novice mages were chased and nearly killed by it. Witchers are already on site and one, Witcher Diego, has already set up a perimeter with the locals.”</p>
<p>“Nested?” Both his eyebrows nearly disappear into his hairline.  Steve didn’t know a lot about Dragons but that word made the hairs along his arms and neck stand on end. “Are we certain?”</p>
<p>“Benjen Stark is already throwing his weight around to turn the place into a sanctuary. The Witcher King himself is set to show up and add his support. Those two found some kind of evidence when they went to the island, that's for sure.”</p>
<p>Fury gestures at the file and Steve starts to go through the intel gathered. He focuses on the few pictures there are since Steve can tell a lot about what he sees.</p>
<p>“Of course, there’s more going on underneath the surface. The deaths of so many sirens saw to that. We suspect the Dragon and intel suggest that’s the same conclusion the Witchers came to as well.”</p>
<p>“And we don’t know why?”</p>
<p>“Part of your mission is to find that out.” Fury watches him as Steve goes through the file, reading hastily written notes alongside the official report. “There’s also movement on Romania’s part to add another embassy on the Gold Coast. The paperwork has already filed and approved by the Prime Minister.”</p>
<p>“So we know where Benjen Stark will be.”</p>
<p>“No.”</p>
<p>Steve looks up from the documents, frowning. They didn’t know where the vampire was going to be? Steve assumed Tony was going to be with his uncle and live with him. </p>
<p>“The paperwork wasn’t filed under Prince Benjen’s name.” The director’s face is stone. “It was submitted by the King himself.”</p>
<p>Steve feels his chest seize. Briefly. Excitement, anticipation, and dread squirm their way into his chest. They make a mess, colliding and fumbling over each other. Another part of him, the primal part, perks up at the prospect of being near another apex predator. A challenge.</p>
<p>“Dracula.”</p>
<p>“Don’t say that to his face. He supposedly has a...unique sense of humor when it comes to humans using that name. Even gave a few the right to a make movies and a TV series about him. But other races is a hard ‘no’ from the royal.”</p>
<p>“You make it sound like I’ll get the chance to be in the same room as him.”</p>
<p>“You will.” Fury’s expression doesn’t change. “Not right away but as soon as we get a recon team to get a feel for the place. You’ll get your chance.”</p>
<p>“And Tony?”</p>
<p>“No clue, yet.” The human taps the file still in Steve’s hands. “But we know what school he’ll be attending, along with a few of his cousins.”</p>
<p>“South Coast High School.”</p>
<p>“One of the best in the area and the fastest to approve of the Stark’s rapid enrollment. Whether they live nearby or not is irrelevant.”</p>
<p>“Security?”</p>
<p>“Expect at least one Witcher and at least one unit of Spec Ops.”</p>
<p>“For a school?”</p>
<p>“This is the royal family. King Vlad does not play around.”</p>
<p>Steve says nothing to that. The vampire king is notoriously possessive of his family members, he knew that since he won’t let Howard live his own life anymore.  Steve was sure he could talk sense into the other but with so long under the other vampire, he’s sure his old friend has been turned against him. He hopes if he gets Tony on board that Howard will follow his son. Steve can only imagine what the father-son duo would be capable of if they worked together with his pack.</p>
<p>“Okay. Do we have any other leads on the Dragon?”</p>
<p>“No other sightings besides the two witnesses who went to the island. Getting access to them shouldn’t be an issue but if it does, you’ll have Widow with you.” Fury pulls out his phone and types a few things into it before putting it away again. “This entire situation is a powder keg waiting to go off and too many heavy hitters to think it will be an easy clean up afterwards. There hasn’t been a Dragon in this world in centuries and I don’t like the idea that one just showed up or that it’s first action to start killing sirens. You’re going to act as security for the American ambassador.”</p>
<p>Fury’s one good eye stares Steve down and not for the first time does the blonde think Fury would have made an excellent werehybrid. It’s a damn shame the serum made him sterile both as a man and a werecreature. It would have been great to have a pack just like him and Fury would have liked being bitten by Steve even if he’s a difficult human to understand.</p>
<p>“While there, you will find out all you can about the Dragon <em> without </em> pissing it off. We don’t need to accidentally start another War. If you can recruit Tony Stark, great. If not, I won’t lose sleep over it. But find out why he’s in Australia and not here in America or Romania finishing school. Understood?”</p>
<p>“Yes, Sir.”</p>
<hr/>
<p><em> She’s good</em>. Diego thinks, <em> She’s really good. Too good to be a regular human.</em></p>
<p>He’s been on edge ever since they got a hit yesterday. It was unlike anything they’ve ever seen before. None of the Witchers recognized it and they didn’t have anything in the system close to it. Fortunately, whatever held the anchor had left enough of an imprint to allow them to track on land. Diego felt like one of those humans with those metal detectors on the beach looking for treasure beneath the sand.</p>
<p>Diego certainly never expected his trace to lead him to a little human girl though.</p>
<p>Or someone who looked like one. She smells human and if he had been one of the others he’d buy that. But Diego was in that cave, he got a good smell of that Dragon even if there weren’t any distinct markers. It was like being able to tell a person has a cat but not capable of picking out <em> which </em> cat in a room full of them. It was annoying as hell but considering how much water is involved, it was not too surprising. </p>
<p>But this girl is their first real lead on anything remotely about the Dragon and he’s not going to let her run him off. There’s just something off about her and it eats at him. She looks, smells, and even moves like a human. </p>
<p>A human with a secret to keep.</p>
<p>She knows more than she says. She knows exactly what he’s looking for and he would have missed her completely if he hadn’t taken the path that led him to this stretch of beach. Diego inhales, trying to take in her scent, and fails. Again. That’s another thing that keeps him here. He’s never failed to memorize a scent he needs to keep track of. It’s a part of their training, a lost trial means a lost catch and that can be dangerous, deadly. </p>
<p>Something is keeping him from taking in this girl’s scent. </p>
<p>Maybe the Dragon? But why would a Dragon care for some human?</p>
<p>Unless she wasn’t just some random human? Diego’s mind buzzed with a number of ideas and reasons for why a Dragon would cover and shield a human from others. Any of which he knows she won’t confirm easily, he can already tell.</p>
<p>“Why were you setting up so far from Mako?”</p>
<p>“Our perimeter is not too far from the island.” He corrects but takes note of how her scent has changed from agitated to something almost focused. It had a bit of a tangy-sweet taste to it and then he lost the scent. She’s sitting right in front of him and it’s like she’s disappearing at the same time. What the fuck? “Besides, the distance lets us separate regular wildlife from anything out of the norm.”</p>
<p>Diego carefully does not say anything negative. ‘Weird’, ‘Anomaly’, ‘Abnormal’, are words he’s sure would have her shut him down faster than he can cast a sign. </p>
<p>“I was diving.” Truth. “Then a boat is dumping shells in the water. Thought you were smugglers for a bit. Took one, looked at it and let it go.” Truth. “There was a...pressure in the water and then there were bubbles everywhere. I decided it was time to get back to shore and left.” </p>
<p>Diego gives nothing away to hint at his internal frustrations. Every word she says is the truth but he can tell she’s still hiding things. But he just can’t tell what. </p>
<p>“So you did see something.”</p>
<p>“I didn’t.” She rolls her eyes but he gets a whiff of frustration before it’s gone. “I just said that I felt a pressure and then a whole lot of nothing before getting out of there. You don’t listen very well.”</p>
<p>No. He can hear better than any human or mage. He can hear what she won’t say and what she tries to hide. It’s all a matter of getting it out of her. </p>
<p>“You haven’t lied. I’ll give you that. But you also haven’t told the complete truth.” This time he sits up, using his height to loom just a bit over her. Besides being a Witcher, most women don’t like it when someone hovers. It’s intimidating and no matter how she reacts, he’ll get something from her. “I’m not leaving until I get a straight answer. This is important, kid. Lives are on the line.”</p>
<p>The girl narrows her eyes, undaunted. <em> Heh, fearless little thing. She’d make a great Witcher. </em> He thinks a second before she starts to grin. It’s a reaction, alright, just not the one he was expecting. There isn’t even a hint she’s aiming to punch him in the face either.</p>
<p>“Oh, you’re leaving alright. Whether you like it or not.” He blinks at her in disbelief.</p>
<p>“What?” </p>
<p>A harsh gust of wind on his back. Diego turns sharply, hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw and cast, only to freeze. He smells it before his eyes can register it. Sea water. Sulfur. Ozone. Burning sand and fresh rain. Scales that gleamed like precious jewels and fangs sharper than his own swords. Diego dares to look it in the eyes and finds the Sun.</p>
<p>The Dragon growls, a sound that is a glacier cracking and collapsing into the sea. </p>
<p>“Goodbye.” The girl chirps happily from her spot behind him.</p>
<p>The Witcher has a single moment of victory. He was right! Before the Dragon is rushing him and then nothing…</p>
<p>...Diego jerks awake, coughing. Water spews from his lips, salt and foam. </p>
<p>Sand beneath his hands, wet hair clinging to his face, and the sun hot against his skin. Someone is talking to him. He can’t hear them but he knows that scent. Woodsy with an undertone of cooked meat, bbq sauce, and venom. </p>
<p>Diego looks around, the world spinning just out of focus. Something is disappearing beneath the waves, glimmering scales and a long tail with sharp spines running along the top. His ears adjust and sound returns.</p>
<p>He flinches at the loud commotion. People screaming, waves crashing upon the shore and birds squawking overhead. He sways, looking for Kurt. Witcher. Manticore Witcher. His brother. His brother will tell him what happened. Was there a fight? Did they lose anyone?</p>
<p>Kurt comes into view, familiar red hair and beard, gold eyes. He holds his hands up, clear for Diego to see and he tilts forward, trusting his brother to catch him. He is not denied.</p>
<p>“Easy, easy there wolf brat.” Kurt murmurs softly. His arms are solid and grounding. Diego cannot feel his own arms, though he knows they’re there. He can move his fingers and know they have moved but he feels nothing from them. </p>
<p>Diego tries to speak but his tongue does not help him form words. He wheezes. Sea water spills from his lips, his stomach still heaving and working to expel it all. When did he go swimming? Who dragged him out? <em>Where is he?</em> </p>
<p>“Don’t try to talk just yet.” </p>
<p>Kurt shifts his arms from holding on to him, to under his arms and lifting. Diego tries to help but his body feels alien to him. </p>
<p>“Fuck, you’re really out of it. Lucas!” Kurt growls, keeping his voice low. Diego knows Lucas, too. Manticore Witcher also. Were they hunting as a group? “Help me.”</p>
<p>Another pair of hands touch him but he doesn’t try to fight. Kurt’s words give him all the warning he needs to know who it is. He is half dragged, half carried away from the beach to a large SUV on the street. There are humans around them. Civilians. They have little boxes in their hands, aiming at him, talking and yelling. He can’t understand a word they’re saying. There’s too many of them and they’re too loud. Everything is too loud. It makes his head ache, a bruise that is still too tender to touch but throbs with every blink of his eyes.</p>
<p>The back door is already open, another Witcher waiting. Diego can’t tell who it is. But having so many of his brethren is a comfort. As soon as the door closes, the noise disappears, Diego lets his body go slack, lets go of the tension keeping him awake. Maybe when he wakes up, someone can answer his questions. He closes his eyes and lets sleep claim him. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Next Up! </p>
<p>Tony and his cousins start at their new school. Tony zeros in on Rikki. Who else is excited to watch that train wreck. Lol</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>What is in a dream? A nightmare?</p><p>Are they visions of the future? Or reminders of the past? </p><p>Whatever the answer, the Starks won't be finding out for a while.</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>